Jacob Cullen
by Rose Tyler
Summary: "I opened my eyes the moment my heart faltered." Post-Breaking Dawn
1. PREFACE

"Goodbye, Dad," I said, looking at Billy, as I slipped my stuff into the trunk of Bella's Ferrari. There weren't words to say how I was feeling right now. Wondering if I'd ever see my father again. My friends… maybe. The werewolves, anyway. The ones who hadn't imprinted yet. I would miss my life, but it would never be the same again, I could never be just average, and maybe, just maybe with the Cullens, I would have a chance for a new start. A better one.

"Really, son… don't go. You don't have to prove anything, or…" he looked at me pleadingly.

"Dad, you know I never wanted to stay in Washington. This is my chance to get out. Start over. Few people get a second chance. But I have one now."

My father looked at me solemnly, then nodded. Charlie put his hand on Billy's shoulder. I got into the passengers seat of the car, shutting the door behind me. On my father, my family, my childhood, and my past. Time for a new beginning.

Bella turned the keys into the ignition, then began driving. In the backseat, Renesmee was looking gleefully out of the window. I turned and did the same. I suppose the look on my face, and my sober aura, made Bella notice that I was wondering if I'd made the right choice. She put her hand on mine. "Are you going to be all right?" In the mirror I saw Renesmee turn and look at me with a wondering expression.

"I will be. What about you?"

"Same here. On to something new." We both smiled, making Renesmee grin gleefully, and then return to gazing out the window.

I looked the windshield at the horizon. A new start.


	2. These Broken Days

These broken days  
won't last forever  
You know i'll put us back together

--Shiny Toy Guns, "I Owe You A Love Song"

* * *

I've been with the Cullen's two years now. Surprisingly, they're very easy to live with. Aside from the smell, that is. They've all pretty much accepted me into their family, even Blondie, in her own way. Let me put it this way -- I do not miss Rachel and Rebecca. Rosalie (hm… something about pretty bitches whose names start with the letter R, that they just have something against me) constantly taunts me, teases me, with no provocation from me whatsoever. But she's better than my sisters, because at least I don't get called "ugly' and "nerd" every five seconds.

Blondie walked into the room, looked me up and down, scowled, and kept on walking. "Stupid." She muttered. See, she had her own pet name for me.

"Hey, did you hear about the tragedy at the mall? There was a power outage, and 27 blondes were stuck on escalators throughout the store."

"Why don't you get some new jokes?"

"Why don't you lay off the sculpting surgery, bimbo?"

She huffed and stormed out of the back door. Anyway, as I was saying, the Cullen's were easy to get along with. Even Edward was bearable at times. He snorted. Edward is number one on my hit list. I'll get him while he least expects it. And it won't be physical. He gave me a mock apologetic look, then grinned, turning back to the television. Yeah, he'd better be scared of me. He knows how I get with revenge. Sneaky, unsuspected, and mentally damaging. "Yeah." He commented.

I walked out the front door (Blondie was out back, didn't want any confrontation there), and sat down on the steps. A few minutes later, I heard a voice. "Hi, Jacob!" I looked up. It was Renesmee, smiling down at me, completely angelic looking. She only looked about twelve now, but she was going to be hot one day. I heard Edward scoff. _Haha_ I thought. I knew that if I could read his thoughts, he would be thinking, "not funny, Jacob". He said that about a lot of my jokes aimed at him. Guy just didn't get humour.

"I get it perfectly fine, thank you!" He commented.

"From Bella?" I heard Emmett's booming laugh and Jasper's quiet chuckle, as Bella walked up and swatted me on the head. Hard. Too hard. "Oow," I muttered.

"That's for being a little pervert. Mind your own business." she walked up the stairs and into the house.

"I don't get it," Renesmee asked, inclining her head. "What does Mom give Dad?"

"Nothing you need to know about for a few more years."

Her brows furrowed and she looked upward, like she did when she was trying to figure something out. Pretty cute kid. Alice walked up the steps, holding quite a few dozen shopping bags. "Have fun, Alice?"

She grinned down--- actually, she was so short, we were practically eye-to-eye, while most people would have to look down -- talk to me. "Oh yes, it was loads of fun. Nessie got some cute stuff, didn't you, Sweetie?"

"Mhm," Renesmee said, still lingering on that joke, trying to understand it.

"And we got Mommy some nice clothes, too, didn't we?"

This time Renesmee didn't answer at all. Her brows furrowed further.

"All right then," Alice laughed. She danced up the stairs. "Bella! Oh Bella, come on! Lets show everyone your new dress!"

"No!" Bella shrieked, and there was a crash from the inside. Probably knocked over a lamp, running from Alice. Leave it to her to be the only klutzy vampire.

"EMMETT, GRAB HER!"

Boom.

Very entertaining when Alice took Bella shopping.

I looked at Renesmee, standing in front of me. She was staring up at the stars, still in wonderment. I pulled her down next to me on the step. She snapped out of her trance. She sighed, apparently exasperated. I laughed. She looked up at me. "It's not easy when you're my age and your whole family gets things that you don't, you know, Jacob."

"Believe me, you don't want to know. Once I learned some things, I wished on my life that I could forget them." I looked up at the darkening sky, seeing the moon beginning to show.

"Such as what?" When I didn't answer her, she sighed again. "You know, everyone treats me like my literal age. I'm more mature than you guys think. I'm not really four."

"We know that, Hon, but it's just… some things you still need to be protected from. Some stuff isn't right for you to know."

She stomped her foot on the step. "I. Am. Not. A. Child." She gritted through her teeth.

"Children stamp their feet," I told her pointedly.

She gave one of Bella's looks. I laughed. She tried to stop it, but a smile began to break out across her face. "Stop it." She shoved my shoulder. I didn't budge. That made me laugh harder. She maintained the "Bella look" for another minute, and then a huge grin broke out across her face, and she began laughing too. We laughed for a while, and when we finally stopped, she got a sad, vacant expression.

"What's wrong?" I could always tell when something was wrong with her, we had an odd, unspoken sort of bond that I could always tell how she was feeling. Her expression was one of hopelessness.

"I just… I have this terrible feeling that everything is about to change now." She looked into my eyes. "For the worst."

I hugged her, and she hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a couple of moments. Then Carlisle whipped his Mercedes into the driveway at, at least eighty. He pulled up so sloppily, that he got tire tracks in the yard.

"Carlisle, what the--?"

"Jacob, Renesmee, get inside the house!" he shouted, running toward us.


	3. You Talk In Your Sleep

You talk in your sleep

I hear you say

Beautiful things

I love you, I do

You know that I do.

The world is awake

But you don't hear

A sound that it makes

Asleep in dreams so deep.

You're far from me now

But you'd be here

In the blink of an eye

If I spoke your name.

The morning will come

For you and I

Life will go on

But keep at least from now till then…

Peace in your heart

Peace in your soul

Peace in your head

Good goodnight.

Peace in your head

Good, Good, Good, goodnight.

You talk in your sleep

**--Aqualung, Good Goodnight**

* * *

"What is it?" Esme asked in a worried voice, looking at Carlisle with a pleading expression. We were all seated in the living room. Renesmee sat between Edward and Bella, leaning on Edward as Bella stroked her hair.

We were all seated, except for Carlisle, who was pacing the room, running his fingers through his hair.

"Come on, Carlisle, what is it?" Emmett asked.

Carlisle looked up at him. "This… this nomadic coven of vampires are headed this way. But they are not friendly. Tanya called, said that other vampires had been harassed by them. Some killed." He sighed, fingers running through his hair so quickly and thoroughly that I thought for sure he was going to lose some of it.

"But why?" Renesmee's voice sounded little. "Why would they do that? It's just so… mean!"

"I don't know, Renesmee. I really wish I could understand. Sometimes… people can be bad, sometimes."

"But WHY?" a few tears fell down her face, and Bella wiped them away, and whispered something in her ear.

"Just because." Carlisle paused. "Bella, perhaps you want to take Renesmee to bed?"

"NO! I want to hear this!"

Rosalie looked at Renesmee. "Sweetie--"

"I AM SICK OF BEING TREATED LIKE A CHILD! I AM NOT A CHILD!"

Her outburst made everyone quiet and still. Even Carlisle removed his hand from his hair and stopped mid-step. All eyes were locked on the small girl. She sniffled quietly to herself, then turned to Bella. "Can you help me get ready for bed, now, Mommy?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Bella took her hand and led her upstairs. I could hear her speaking to her daughter in a soothing voice, and eventually Renesmee's sobs quieted. We sat in silence for a few minutes until Bella returned. "She's asleep now."

After a few more moments of silence, Jasper looked up at Carlisle. "So… do you think that they are going to bother us then, Carlisle? Will we need to fight them?"

"Jasper," Esme scolded, fear and worry etched into her face. "We will not fight unless it's absolutely necessary. Carlisle sat down and put his arm around her.

"We may not have a choice there, Love."

We all sat in silence for a few more moments. This family sure had a lot of awkward moments.

[Insert random, displeased look from Edward.]

[Insert rude word thought directed to Edward.]

"So how long until they're here?" Rosalie asked.

Alice's eyes closed and she tilted her head back. Her head snapped forward in a way that would have given me whiplash, and looked directly at Rosalie. They'll be here tomorrow at noon."

* * *

At noon, we all stood outside of the house. Renesmee had wanted to help fight, but we all protested against it. Except for Jasper, who said something along the lines of, "The sooner a person learns, the better the fighter they become."

That had gotten him quite a few dirty looks.

"All right, now, you all. Keep your tempers, there will be absolutely NO fighting or arguing of any kind, we must be polite and civil…" she went on and on. And then I noticed something. The smell of a vampire. Edward and Jasper both stiffened.

"Did you guys smell that?" I asked.

"Yes, but it is probably just the wind carrying their scent." Jasper reasoned.

"Yeah, sure, okay, but why is it coming from _that_ direction?" I asked, inclining my head toward the back of the house.

They all froze.

"What if they got in the back door? Renesmee is in there!"

As soon as the words had escaped my lips, Bella was running for the back door, Edward close behind her. Everyone was about to follow, when I noticed the obvious. "We can't _all_ go running back there, what if they still come from this way?"

Everyone looked annoyed at my logic.

"Right," Carlisle said. "Rosalie, Jasper, go back with them to watch the back."

"Carlisle!" Edward's strained voice came from the back. "They're coming…"

We all ran back as fast as we could.

When we got back there, there they were. Six of them, all with tangled hair and messed up clothes. Their eyes glowed a bright red. They didn't even have to say a word, I phased just as they lunged.

The fight raged on and on, away from the house and toward a cliff, and I saw my family fighting like I'd never seen before. I couldn't decide if it was Carlisle or Esme that scared me more. Rosalie pounced on one of them from behind, and Esme ripped off all of its limbs. Emmett tackled two, who took swipes to take off his head. Edward and Jasper jumped to help him tag-team the two nomads. I had to admit that I enjoyed dismembering one that tried to sneak up on Bella while she was fighting its…friend? I looked up and saw to my horror that Renesmee was running up to join in the fight. "Renesmee, no!" I heard Edward scream. She ignored him and kept approaching, quickly.

A nomad ran toward her, and my vision went red. He. Would. Not. Hurt. My. Renesmee. I tackled him, but he was ready for me. I drove him toward the cliff, hoping he would shatter if I could just knock him off… He nearly got up, and I tackled him. Right over the side of the cliff. The huge, canyon of a cliff.

* * *

A/N:

**Gasp** Noo! Jacob!

So that's all for tonight, sorry. Time to get ready for bed. Sorry if it was a bit too short. I'm not that good with fighting scenes. Anyway, I was wondering, on who's point of view should I write the next chapter? Leave a review with any suggestions. Because really, any of the Cullens would !


	4. Are We Human? Or Are We Dancers?

Are we human?

Or are we dancers?

**-The Killers, "Human"**

* * *

**CARLISLE**

I grabbed Renesmee before she could go over the cliff's edge. The fight was over, and she was trying very hard to get to Jacob to see if he was all right. Even if it was possible to see, I do not think that I would want her to see, let alone see for myself, what had become of my son. I still found it hard to believe that he could be… gone. Esme was sobbing, and Bella looked lost, Edward calling her name, trying to get her to hear him. We all stood in silence as I held my weeping granddaughter.

"Let's get home." I said to my family quietly.

**TWO DAYS LATER**

These past few days have been very hard on my family and I. I know it is yet even more hard for Renesmee and Bella than for the rest of us. He had saved Bella's life, in different ways. When we left her behind, he helped her to pick up the pieces of her life. He had closed up the hole that we had left, had helped her to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Not to mention the cliff save.

Then Renesmee, the poor child! She had grown up under his care, his constant love and attention. The way he adored her was a level of adoration that I had never seen before. There was a brother/sister-like bond between them, but closer. Everyone had given up thinking that any romantic relationship could come between them. Best friends, siblings was all it… or perhaps I should say would, have ever been.

The family spoke of going to visit the Denali Coven for a few days, to help cheer them all up. I felt better off here, where I could focus on saving others who had a chance, unlike my son. I was afraid to think his name, worried that is would bring on a bout of dry sobs.

Which I would do, as soon as my family was not around to see it.

They all packed and left, Esme kissing me, saying that she was only a phone call away if I needed her. I told her that I knew that, and she gave me a hug before running down the stairs and into the passengers seat of the Porsche.

Later that night, I sat in my study.

I went over old documents and such, aimlessly organizing and reorganizing everything, switching places, trying to keep my mind and my hands busy. I even went as far as to switch all of my books to alphabetical order. Although it took me three days, it could not keep my mind as occupied as I had been hoping. I set down the book I was holding (Stephen King's "Dreamcatcher") and sat down on the floor. I ran my hands through my hair. A deep feeling of remorse filled me, and I put my head in my hands. I sobbed, hoping, praying for tears. To properly mourn the child I had just so recently adopted, had just so recently began to love, and who was now gone because…

**FLASHBACK**

**THE CULLEN LIVING ROOM**

_"It's my fault!" Renesmee sobbed. It's all my fault! If I hadn't been so stupid and childish, then Jacob would still be… he's still a-a-alive, I-isn-isn't h-he?" Her body began wracking, and Rosalie pulled her into her lap, stroking her hair and saying that it was not her fault. Trying to soothe her._

_Rosalie had a certain expression in her eyes. One of remorse. Filled with regret. It must be terrible, to lose a brother that you had never said a single kind word to._

_Jasper silently sent a calming, slight more cheerful aura toward us all. Esme nodded at him, silently thanking him._

_It's my fault... it's all my fault…_

Renesmee's words echoed in my head. But I couldn't think that… but indeed, it had been. There was no use trying to pretty it up. If she had not been there, Jacob would still be here with us today, probably sitting in my desk chair reading one of my medical books, asking me what a strange term meant every few moments.

But no… I would never blame Renesmee. The child may have been the reason that things had worked out the way that they had, but Jacob would jump me in a second if he knew what I was thinking. He'd be saying that I dare not say anything like that about her, now or ever again, because she was his reason for living, and that he would die for her any day.

There was no fault, no way to blame anyone, just a freak accident of nature, a coincidence, and no matter what I could have done, it still would have happened. I tilted back my head and screamed, pulling at my blonde hair. Bad habits never die. _But my son did_, I thought to myself sardonically. No, no. If only there were some way to go back in time, if there way any way…

"Are you all right?" a weak, tired sounding voice asked me. I looked up.

It was Jacob.

He had a broken arm, was beat and bruised pretty badly, but he was actually alive. This was too good to be true.

"I feel really weak…" he sounded faint.

"Go lie down on your bed, I'll be there in a minute with my equipment."

I had his leg fixed up, but it was not showing signs of healing as fast as it had before. His temperature had gone down considerably, too.

"My head is killing me… I probably have some sort of concussion." he told me.

I added a stronger dose of Percocet to an IV bag and stuck it into his arm. I then X-Rayed and checked his head for injuries. What I found was something I had been praying that I would not.

"No…" I whispered. I heard his heart beat pick up.

"What?"

"It's…" I looked him in the eye. "You have severe tendon damage. It will go into your brain and damage your motor skills. In mere hours."

"So I'll be paralysed?" He asked, fear in his voice.

"No. I will not let it happen." I put my hand on his shoulder. "I promise you, Jacob, _nothing _will happen."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then fainted.

I began pacing around the room, trying to figure out what I could do. I came up with nothing. But I had made him a promise, and I would keep it.

I gave up trying to think of anything, being distressed and angry with myself. I began going over what all was wrong with him. And then I remembered.

He normally had twenty-five sets of chromosomes. Humans had twenty-three. But his body temperature was decreasing, and he was healing more slowly…

I checked, and sure enough, he was down to twenty-three and a half chromosomes.

He was becoming more human.

Without a second thought, without thinking of the consequences it may bring, I bit him. And prayed that it would work.

Because it had to.


	5. Abomination Begets Abomination

**Jacob**

I opened my eyes the moment my heart faltered.

Clarity. Everything. The dust particles in the air to the tiny diamond-looking red dots telling the time on my digital clock. My eyesight, my hearing, my strength, everything was yet more enhanced than it had been as a shape shifter. Speaking of my now former ability to turn into a wolf, much as I hated to admit it, the Cullens- no, my family now- were right. My room stank! At least the rest of the house would smell better to me now.

I sat up. I looked around my room, and then down at my nightstand besides the clock. I saw a note written in Carlisle's handwriting.

_Jacob_

_If you are reading this, then you must be awake. Welcome back, son. I'm glad you made it._

_I am down at the hospital, and the rest of the family took a small vacation for a few days to calm Renesmee down from the thought that she lost you. I have called them and told them that all is well, though._

_You know my number. Please do not leave the house until I can come back and go hunting with you, to protect any innocent humans. See you tonight,_

_Carlisle_

Hmmm… funny. I didn't feel all that thirsty. Wasn't Bella's throat burning when she awoke? I'd have to ask Carlisle later.

Then it struck me. I felt an excitement, anxiety, like a child on Christmas morning. I looked different, probably better looking. I was already basically a perfect-looking human (not to sound vain, but I was told that a lot), so I must be absolutely stunning now. _Hmmm_, I thought with some satisfaction, _better looking than Blondie?_ I would love to see her expression when she saw me.

I looked into the mirror. Sure as hell…

_Ha, Blondie!_

I then remembered my eyes. Would they still be black, or blood red? Slowly I raised my eyes to meet them in the mirror. Black. How could that be? Maybe I wasn't fully transformed yet. Another thing to ask Carlisle later, and simply enjoy for the time being.

Okay, so what to do now. What do most newborn vampires do when they first awake? Aside from killing for bloodlust, that is. So I did what any bored person, human, shape shifter, vampire, or whatever being would do when bored. I went downstairs and turned on the tv.

Nothing on, shocker. Finally I decided on the re-run of this old cancelled Sci-fi show that I had never bothered watching while it was on, The 4400. It was okay, but I couldn't really focus, as my mind was still churning with questions. Should I call Carlisle? No, I wanted to call Renesmee. But I'd sound different. What if that would freak her out? I'd sound different. I didn't even know how I sounded. I began to randomly repeat the characters on the show.

I _had_ to talk to Renesmee. But… I stared at the phone, frustrated. Suddenly, it lifted off of its stand and came floating toward me. I froze. I looked around. I was all alone. It had to be some sort of trick. It hovered in front of me, and I reached out my hand. It landed there. It remained still. I looked around once more. Nothing. Silence, aside from the tv.

"It's just a book," the blonde woman, Lily, said.

"It's the doorway to hell," the crazy man said. He turned toward the baby, Isabelle. "Is that child yours?"

"It's my daughter," Lily said offensively.

"Abomination begets abomination," he told her.

Isabelle turned her head over her mothers' shoulder and looked at the man. Just as she did so, a store window blew up. Books began to fly everywhere.

Wait a minute.

We had that kind of cable that you could fast forward through. I flipped forward, watching every scene with the baby Isabelle in it, watching closely and attentively. I flipped through what looked to be about two and a half seasons of it. At the end of that first episode I saw, Isabelle made the man and his sons, who had been chasing her and her parents, trying to kill them, kill each other. In another, Isabelle, in attempt to save her mothers' life, tried to commit suicide. She failed. In another, she made fire pokers lift up and stab through a man. She made a man fly back through a window. She made two fall over dead with a single look. Isabelle could make people see things, make people do things, believe things. I put all of the pieces together.

She was immortal, as was I.

She could lift things by simply thinking about it. Could I?

I looked down at the phone in my hand and willed it to go back on the charger. It shot over there and landed on the charger gently.

She killed the men by looking at them. I opened the back door and stood on the porch, looking for life. I saw a squirrel. It fell over dead.

She could make people believe things. Did that mean that I could? I looked in the glass wall and wanted to see my true eye color. Blood red. Crimson. I wanted to know if I was hungry. My throat was suddenly burning, and I fell to my knees and gasped. No, I would not be thirsty. And then I wasn't. I wanted my eyes back, and they went back to normal.

I could make myself, probably others as well, think and believe things. I could lift things with my mind.

The pieces were all together.

My ability was mind control.

* * *

"You have mind control?" Carlisle asked me later that night. He was pacing the room. I noticed he's been doing that a lot lately.

"Yes. Would you like me to demonstrate on you?"

"Yes. What exactly can you do?" he questioned. Um… lift things, make people see things… murder." I added that last bit quietly and quickly.

"What?"

'I… murdered a squirrel. I was only seeing if I could!"

"So…maybe you can bring simple pain, instead of just murder. Try to hit me with pain." He sat down.

"No."

"No?" he looked at me inquisitively.

"No. It could go terribly awry, what if I end up doing something permanent? Or killing you?"

He laughed. "You can not kill me like that. Unless you were to disassemble me and start fire to me. The worst you can do is a migraine."

"It's not worth the risk."

"But you'd want to know if you could do it, if the Volturi were to suddenly appear, wouldn't you? What if they tried to take or harm Renesmee?" He obviously knew that one would get me.

"All right… but you agreed, if something goes wrong."

"All right then," he agreed with a faint smile.

I tried to get his arm. "Feel that?"

"No."

I tried harder. "That?"

"No."

I tried to give him chest pains. _That_?" I asked, now getting frustrated.

"No."

I then went on to attempt a headache.

"AAH! AAH!" he screamed.

I let back in alarm.

"Are you-"

"Keep doing it. Give it all you've got!" he screamed at me.

I saw the clearish white color this time, shoot across the space between us. It hit him in the head. He tried to bite his lip to keep from screaming, but I could tell that the pain was excruciating. I did not want to disobey him, though, so I kept forcing the pain through to him. "stop…" he gasped. I stopped. I made another color go toward him, a translucent black. He sighed in relief. When he had composed himself once more, he looked at me and smiled. "When the others return, we will have to see how many directions you can send that. I think that you may be the Volturi's biggest problem yet. Our greatest weapon."

"Then I guess this side's lucky to have me, isn't it?" I grinned.

"I suppose so. You know," he said with a certain thoughtfulness, "they'll want you, too. Just like they have tried to get Edward, Alice, and Jasper, they'll be after you, pursue you more than any other vampire with ability, I'd think."

I grimaced. "They can _try_ to get me, but they won't." I would rather die, or be ripped apart and set to fire, if you'd prefer to say that, than to work for them. I had seen them murder that Irina from the Denali Coven. I had seen the way they had been eyeing Renesmee. I remembered the feeling of fear, how Edward was a fool, for letting one of them touch him.

"Then that's good as well. I wouldn't think you would get on well with them, anyway."

"Boring, old, and psychotic?"

"That is a good summary," he smiled again.

A car pulled up in the driveway. Alice's Porsche, followed by Bella's Ferrari. I recognized the sounds from the engines. When you had hearing as advanced as I have for the past few years, you could distinguish random sounds such as that easily.

A door slammed.

I heard Bella's voice. "Renesmee, come get-"

"No! Jacob's awake." I heard her feet slamming on the pavement. Carlisle opened the door, which was a good thing, because the kid almost ran smack into it. I stood up, and she ran smack into me. She threw her arms around me and hugged me as tight as she could.

"Hey kiddo." I said, hugging her back.

"Are you all right? Really? I am so sorry! I'm such a stupid kid…"

Outside I could hear Carlisle explaining to them about my power in a more quiet tone. I heard Bella and Esme gasp. I heard Blondie mutter, something along the lines of "oh great" in a sarcastic tone.

I smiled down at Renesmee. "No you aren't. You only wanted to help, that's perfectly understandable. Thank you for trying. And you know what? I'd do it again, any day, if it meant you were safe."

She smiled. "I don't think that will be necessary, but thank you. So have you gone hunting yet?"

"No. Would you care to accompany me in the slaughter of a poor innocent animal so that I may suck its blood, Ms. Cullen?"

"I'd love to," she grinned.

* * *

"Mine's bigger!" she yelled at me. She stood over a huge buck.

"Please. I'm not even done yet. I'd bet you I can catch more grizzly bears." I boasted.

"Oh, it's on, vampire boy!" she ran off.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best idea to challenge a little girl to a grizzly bear catching contest. But she could take it.

I ran off after Renesmee, keeping my eyes peeled for a bear.

I saw one.

I tackled it. It put up a tiny, basically pathetic fight. The struggle was quick, and then it was dead. I drained it. "That's one!" I shouted to her.

"Damn!" she hissed.

I began running again. Found one. Tackled it. Killed it. Drained it. "Two!"

"Argh!" I heard her scream in frustration from off in the distance.

"Ha!" I shouted back.

I began to run through the woods again. Off in my peripheral vision, I saw a flash of brown. Mistook it for a deer. _Whomp!_ Something hit me from the side, and I fell to the ground. Whatever it was kneeled on my chest. I was about to fight it off when I realized that it was Bella. She was grinning down at me. "Well look what _I_ caught."

"Bella." I spat through my teeth jokingly.

She laughed. "Carlisle said to get the two of you home, he wanted me to help you practice your powers. See if you could break one of my shields. Come on." She stood up and began running toward Renesmee. I got up and followed. I tackled her to the ground just as we came to the clearing that Renesmee was in.

"I caught one!" she said proudly. She was standing over a grizzly bear.

"I caught two grizzly bears, and a Bella," I said in the same proud tone. They both laughed.

"Get off of me," Bella said, pushing me, still laughing. She stood up and brushed herself off. "Renesmee, sweetheart, it's time to go home. It's getting dark out."

"Fine," Renesmee sighed. She pointed at me. "This isn't over, you." She began racing toward the house, Bella and I in close pursuit. When we got there, Renesmee turned around. "I'm going to take a shower and read for a bit, then go to bed. Night."

"Night," Bella and I echoed.

Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper all came outside.

"You all come to watch?" Bella asked in a laughing tone.

"Oh yeah, we wanted to see which stubborn person would win. Jasper and I have a little bet, see." Emmett explained.

"Right," Bella said. She turned to me. "Okay, try to hit me."

I couldn't do this. Couldn't hurt Bella. We had too much history, what if-"

"I think you're the one who should be worried," Edward told me. "Hit her."

"Did you just tell me to hit your wife?" I asked.

He smiled. "No, I'm the only one who gets to do that." he covered his mouth as if he had said something he shouldn't have. Everybody laughed.

I turned back to Bella. "Ready?"

"Try me." she dared.

I shot the white mist across to her. I saw ripples coming towards me through the air..

The white mist and the ripples hit midair, and pushed against each other. Both of us forced our powers harder, but they continued to stay even. It reminded me in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Harry and Voldemort's wand energies connected. Or Star War's light saber's. Haha. I gave a great shove, and Bella stumbled backward. The ripple disappeared, and the mist surrounded her. She screamed in pain. I quickly withdrew and let the translucent black hit her. She looked relieved.

Everyone started in amazement. Blondie was staring at me blankly. As if she were trying not to like me, but was having trouble with it. Wonder what she's thinking.

_Amazing_, I heard her think.

What? Could I read minds? Edward looked shocked.

_This is so frustrating. The little brat gets amazing powers. I've been alive for a hundred years, yet I've never had any power. And he's better-looking than me, too!_

Her thoughts were then cut off from me. Edward looked at me as if he were thinking something to me.

_What?_ I thought back.

_So you _can _read minds now._ He thought.

_If I want to, I guess._

_Amazing._

_Let's not tell everyone though, all right?_

_Good idea. This could always be fun._

_Of course,_ I thought back.

"Come on, kids, let's get back inside," Esme said. "It's almost dark out. We can play with Jacobs' powers later." She turned and walked back into the house, and we all followed.

"Hey, wait," Jasper said, holding his hand out to Emmett. Emmett sighed, and handed Jasper a hundred dollar bill. "Nice doing business with you, Emmett." Emmett scowled.

So I was a vampire now.

A vampire with mind control.

Wonderful.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so that was a LOT longer than I had originally planned. But it just kept coming!I'm like a woman posessed. haha

So the haze that Jacob's power gives off, I remember Bella saying powers gave off hazes of different colours in Breaking Dawn. Or maybe I misremembered, but anyway, Jacob's of his power, I thought and thought about what it could be, and I made it mind control. Isabelle Tyler, the girl that helped Jacob discover his powers,was my hero. She was amazing. So I basically gave him her powers,but added a couple twists.


	6. Too Cool For School

**Jacob**

We all were sitting around the living room. MTV was on, and there was a nonstop video block, which has ironically been on commercial break for 6 ½ minutes now. Emmett wouldn't let us change the channel.

"So… you all know what you get to do tomorrow," Esme said in a mocking tone.

"Oh yes, we are all _thrilled_," Edward said, trying to sound sarcastic, but failed miserably. When you speak in a voice that is equally as dull as Shakespeare's probably was, sarcasm just doesn't go.

"Can't I wait another year?" Renesmee asked. It had been a couple of years since I had changed, and she was now fully grown. This would be her first year at high school, or any other public school for that matter. Obviously I couldn't remember being five on my first day of kindergarten, but I got the gist of how she was feeling. We had the sort of relationship where we could always tell what the other was thinking or feeling. And when I say thinking, I'm not including my optional mind reading. Anyway…

"No, Renesmee, you'll be fine," Bella told her. Ah, the sympathetic parent lecture.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll make some friends if she just smiles and says, "hello!" I said in a fake cheerful voice. "Maybe she can give out cookies, too."

Bedward shot me their dirty looks, but everyone else snickered. Renesmee gave me a meek smile. "I don't feel that great. I think I'll go to bed now. Goodnight everyone." She got up and went up the stairs.

"Goodnight," Everyone echoed.

A video finally came on. "How bout a little throwback!" the announcer shouted. Katy Perry's "Hot N' Cold" came on.

"Hey, I was seventeen when this came out!" I complained.

Alice laughed her high little laugh. "How does it feel to be _old_?" she asked.

"I'm twenty-four!"

They all laughed at me. Great family. (Surprised Bedward got it.)

"And you're my little baby boy!" Esme crooned.

"No." I said, then laughed. "I'm going to check on Renesmee." I stood up and went up the stairs. Renesmee's door was closed. "Nessie?" I called, knocking on the door.

"Just a minute." After a couple of moments, her door opened. She had changed into a black tank top and some shorts. Her expression was somewhat pained, but she was trying to cover it up. "Yes?"

"Are you all right? You look a little… sick."

"No, I'm fine." I could tell that she was lying. I poked around in her mind. The first thought I picked up on was her surface thought.

_He looks so cute with that expression… no, Renesmee, STOP._

I pushed a little deeper into her thoughts. I was just about to find out-

"Stop prying, creep," she told me. I can feel your little mental fingers poking around inside my head."

"Sorry…" So she couldn't feel me poking around her surface thoughts, I thought that if I were careful, maybe I could figure something out.

_Stop…staring…at…me. I can't breathe or think straight!_

_Okay_ I thought, snapping out of her mind. That's very uncomfortable. She had been giving me weird looks like that since she looked about fourteen or fifteen. Sort of the look girls gave me in high school, but it was slightly more longing, and something else that I couldn't quite place.

"Are you _really_ all right?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to come in for a while, maybe watch a movie, or-"

"No, I'm just going to turn in. Big day coming up." She gave another weak smile. "Night." She gave me a quick hug and then went back into her room.

I turned and went down the hallway and went into mine. Okay, might as well catch up on my reading, to distract me from fussing over her. I put an Avenged Sevenfold CD on quietly, and then got out The Shining. Man, Jack was a psycho. Why didn't Wendy take Danny and leave while she still had the chance? Putting up with a bitchy mother was better than a homicidal husband in an empty, haunted hotel up in the mountains with no way down for five months.

I tried to put it into my perspective. Be stuck with Bedward, here, safe, or be in that old, haunted hotel with say, Emmett and Renesmee, Emmett chasing us around trying to kill us. I see Wendy's point. I'll take Emmett.

There was a knock on my door about six in the morning.

"Come in."

Alice danced through my door. "Morning!"

"Morning, Littlest Elf." I told her, closing my book.

"Ha-ha. What are you wearing today?"

"What?"

She sighed. "I don't let any of my siblings dress themselves to go out in public. Except for Rosalie. _She_ is completely trustable. If you pass today, however, I think you may be trustable. You usually match. If you don't though, I'm going to lay your clothes out for you for the rest of eternity. So what are you wearing?"

"I don't know…"

"Go figure it out, then." She told me in a stern voice.

"You can pick for me," I told her.

"No, it's a test. Pass or fail. Go." She sat down on the edge of my bed. When I didn't get up, she reached over and pinched my leg. "Now." she growled.

I got up and went to my closet. I pulled out a long sleeved, black, button-down shirt, blue jeans, and black Converse. I changed in my closet since the little creep wasn't going to leave my room. Most likely presuming that I would lock her out if she did. Which I probably would have.

I stepped out of my closet. "How do I look?"

"Twirl around," she told me with a grin.

I did.

"That's great! Good job! You are now officially on the Alice Cullen Trust List." she extended her hand. I shook it.

"Thank you, for this wonderful honour. When do I make my acceptance speech?"

She just laughed and walked out of the room, shouting behind her, "Time to get Renesmee!" I laughed softly, imagining Renesmee's horror at Alice using her as her personal living Barbie doll.

* * *

An hour and fifteen minutes later we were all gathered in the kitchen.

"Now remember… where are Alice and Renesmee?" Carlisle asked.

"Playing dress-up," Emmett responded.

"Ah, I see. Could somebody go get them?" Carlisle smiled.

"I'll get it." I said, taking my phone out of my pocket and calling Alice's phone.

"Hello?" she said through what sounded like a mouthful of bobby pins.

"Hey Midget, it's time to go."

"HELP ME!" Renesmee said in the background.

"Just a moment." Alice said, and then hung up.

"You're a vampire, you have all of eternity, you have super speed, etcetera, why couldn't you have just gone up there?" Jasper asked.

I shrugged.

He snorted. "All right, then."

Alice came dancing into a room, followed by Renesmee. "Tada!" Alice sang, holding her arms out towards Renesmee. Renesmee looked annoyed. Alice had picked out a very flashy, yet simple, outfit for her. She had on a green shirt with half-sleeves and skinny jeans tucked into white knee-high boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail with her bangs swept to the side. So Alice overdid it a bit, but it didn't look that bad. Alice had dressed too simply though, with a black jumper, black leggings, and black flats, for her to be dressing Renesmee like that.

Bella shot Renesmee a sympathetic look. Looked like Alice had gotten to her, too. Renesmee rolled her eyes at Bella, and Bella laughed.

"Okay, so we all remember the story. Right?" Carlisle asked. You're all adopted, Jasper and Rosalie are twins, Bella and Renesmee are twins."

Rosalie laughed.

"What?" Carlisle looked at her, confused. "Did I forget something?"

"Edward needs to be tied in there, Renesmee looks too much like him to say they're only adopted siblings."

"Right. Okay, so, um…"

"Older brother by nine months?" Esme suggested.

"Right, that works. Okay, so then The three of them and Alice are Freshman, and the rest of you are Sophmores. Have fun!"

"'Fun' and 'high school' do not belong in the same conversation, Carlisle," Emmett said, walking out the door.

"Neither do 'funny' and 'Emmett'" I added, following him out the door.

"Shut up," he whined, punching me in the shoulder.

We went out into the garage. "I want to drive the Ferrari!" Emmett screamed.

"Okay, fine." Bella threw him the keys and got into the Volvo's passengers seat.

"I'll go with you," I told Emmett. "I'd rather risk death than seeing Bedward flirt for one more minute."

He laughed.

"Agreed," Alice and Renesmee echoed. We all jumped into the Ferrari.

Emmett revved the engine, and Edward revved his in response. Alice held her hand up to the window, counting down with her fingers, "three. Two. One!" Both cars lurched out of the driveway. Emmett whipped out in front of Edward's Volvo, avoiding a collision by about three narrow inches.

"Ha!" Emmett screamed, making a face at Edward and putting his thumbs on his ears, waving them wildly. Edward gave him a mock dirty look, and Bella looked terrified. The Ferrari almost drove off the driveway, and I reached over to the steering wheel and jerked the car back into the driveway. "Oh… haha. Thanks Jake." He laughed.

"Saving your ass again. You owe me big time." I said, sitting back.

"I know I do." his grin widened.

We finally pulled up at the school, which was a tiny building. Probably only about 400 students. Fun. Emmett got out of the car and threw the keys to Bella.

"You are NEVER driving my car again!" Bella screamed.

As we all got out, everyone began to stare at us. Oh yeah, great-looking, rich, you get stared at a lot. "Hello," Rosalie said in a somewhat annoyed sounding voice, to a couple of girls that were sitting on an old car a few spaces away from us, gaping. They quickly looked away.

"Nice, Blondie," I laughed.

She smiled at me. "I know, right?"

We had gotten over the whole arguing thing, possibly because I smelled better and wasn't a werewolf any more, I don't know why. But she was actually pretty cool. Probably my favourite new sibling next to Alice and Emmett. And of course, Renesmee was my favourite. They were all great, except for the essence of Bedward. Bella was really getting on my nerves. I honestly don't remember what it ever was that I saw in her. She's annoying, whiny, preppy, stupid, boring, etc. Edward shot me a look of daggers. _Fuck off_, I thought to him. He growled. I growled back and blocked him off of my mind. Edward was actually pretty cool- aside from when Bella was in the room. Her lameness really took him down.

We walked into the school, everyone staring. Rosalie and I spent a lot of the walk saying sarcastically, "hello!" to all of the stupid human who couldn't mind their own business and kept staring at us. It was actually quite fun.

We went into the main office. A kind elderly lady looked up from the desk. "Hello, you must be the Cullens?" she asked us.

"Yes," Jasper told her.

"Well welcome to the school, the city, I hope you have a nice time here. Here are your schedules…" she handed Alice, who was closest, our schedules, and she handed them all to us. "Here are maps of the school, in case you get lost…" I nearly snorted. Doubtful we'd get lost here. Help, I'm lost in a mouse hole! Come on. I had Biology first period, then English, then Computer Applications, and then Math. Good fun.

We all walked out of the office. "Biology…" Rosalie groaned.

"I have it too," I moaned back. "I honestly don't see how you can all stand to keep coming back here. I don't think I'll make it this second time." I told them.

"Yeah, well, try 53 times," Edward sighed. "Best get going, see you guys later."

Well all went our different directions. "So, what do you want to bet this teacher is, gay, a homo freak, or all of the above?" Rosalie asked.

"All of the above. And then higher."

"Yeah, I bet Biology teachers get into some of the chemistry chemicals," she laughed.

We walked into the room, which only had about fifteen other people in it. They all gaped. Yeah, not only were we freakishly good-looking, we were also the best looking of the Cullens. Haha. This was going to get old very quickly, being gaped at.

"Hello," Rosalie repeated for the eighteenth time today to three boys that were staring at her. At her retreating back they began checking her out. I leaned over against the first two's table, and looked at the three of them.

"Look at my sister like that again, you'll all be swallowing each others eyeballs," I growled. One of them swallowed, and a lump went down his throat. I walked to the back of the classroom and sat next to Rosalie, who was trying not to laugh.

The teacher walked into the room. "Homo freak," I whispered in vampire hearing range.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Rainbow," he said.

"Two for two," I whispered.

"And no, not R-A-I-N-B-O-W, it's R-A-I-N-E-B-O." He wrote it up on the board to further prove his point.

Rosalie looked at me, raising her eyebrows and sighing, then turned back to the front of the room.

The class was very… well, stupid, but gay works too. I'm sure Mr. Rainbow agrees. That gay works. We went our separate ways, and I went to English. The teacher was actually somewhat cool. This may be the most interesting English class I've ever had. Maybe I'd actually be able to pay attention enough to pass this time. Haha. I had Computer Applications next, which Rosalie and Emmett had, too. We spent most of that period making fun of the teacher, an odd little fellow that reminded us of the Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. And he was late, so very late! Finally it was lunch time, and we walked in and directly towards a table in the far corner that the rest of our family was sitting at. Girls were staring at Emmett and me, practically drooling, not caring that they looked completely rude. I sat down next to Renesmee.

"How's it going?" I asked her.

"It's lame," she told me. "I don't need to know any of this!"

I laughed. "Welcome to public school."

A couple of guys wearing football jackets that were about to walk past our table were muttering over who was hotter, Bella or Rosalie. One of them said something very rude about Bella, and I stuck my foot out and tripped him, his friends falling on top of him, all onto their food. "Excuse me?" I said.

They all looked like deer caught in headlights. Covered in food.

"What did you just say about my sister?" I asked.

The one who had said it, with greasy, slicked-back dark hair, stuttered. "I-I…I…"

"I think it would be best to apologize to her, and then never say her name, look at her, or think about her again," I said in a low voice with such menace that he backed away slightly.

He looked at Bella. "S-sss-sorry…" he muttered, shuffling quickly away.

Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper all snorted. Bella looked shocked, and Edward looked angry. He looked at me and said quietly, "Jacob! You can not just do stuff like that to them! They're humans, and we need as little contact with them as possible."

"Well maybe you enjoy hearing people say stuff like that about your _wife_, but I sure as hell don't." I glared back. I turned to Renesmee. "Anyone been bothering you?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. Yeah, but I just decided that ignoring them would be the best method." Everyone else narrowed their eyes at her. "Seriously, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm a big kid now!" she quoted the Huggies commercial.

We all laughed and started different conversations.

We all went to our last classes. Math was… well, Math.

At the end of the day we were all standing by the cars waiting for Renesmee and Bella.

And then the stuff fizzled out of it's beaker and went right through his pant leg!" Emmett finished, laughing as he described what had happened to his Chemistry teacher in last period when he accidentally mixed the wrong chemicals together.

Renesmee and Bella were about halfway across the parking lot when a guy shouted something to Renesmee. His friend laughed, and her and Bella looked disgusted. Bella was about to say something to the guy, but Emmett and I were over there before her mouth was open. "Go get in the cars," I told them, keeping my eyes locked onto the jock in front of me. The girls went to the car.

"So," Emmett said, as we moved closer, causing the guy to lean back against the hood of his car while his friend turned and walked away. "Bothering our sisters?"

"You just can't get away with that," I added.

"No, you can't." Emmett growled. "So leave them alone or you'll be trying to swallow your own ear, okay?"

The jock's eyes grew huge, and he nodded. "Sorry…" He jumped into his car, and we stepped out of the way. He sped off.

"You did something to his car, didn't you? I could see your little mental aura going to his engine." Emmett grinned slyly at me.

"Yeah, well, let's just say that he's going to be in a bit of trouble when his parents have to pick him up from Mexico."

We laughed and got into the Ferrari.

"Are you all right?" I asked Renesmee, turning in my seat to look at her.

"Where's he going?" she asked with a light smile.

"He's taking a little trip to Mexico."

"But we're in Maine."

"Yeah." I turned back in my seat and looked out through the front window as we raced Edward home.

I randomly began poking around everyone's surface thoughts.

Alice: _What Not To Wear will be on when we get back… someone needs to tell _Stacy and Clinton _what not to wear!_

Okay…

Emmett:

Too focused on driving to think. His mind was usually blank, though.

Renesmee: _He actually made the car take that jerk to Mexico… I wonder if that means… no. Stop it…_

I backed out into my own mind. She'd get over me. Just a little crush… I think.


	7. She Want to Move

Okay, so I was out of motivation for this until **Renesmee Cullen X **left a review asking if I'd post a new chapter by tomorrow, as it's her birthday. So of course I did! Thank her for my motivation, and tell her happy birthday!

* * *

**Jacob**

During the car ride home, Emmett and I popped in an 80's Metal Hits Cd, and the two of us and Alice were singing along.

_"Cause baby well be-  
At the drive-in  
In the old man's ford  
Behind the bushes  
Till I'm screamin for more  
Down the basement  
Lock the cellar door  
And baby…  
Talk dirty to me!"_

The next verse started, and Renesmee had a weird expression on her face.

"What?" Alice asked her. "Did our singing dazzle you?" she poked Renesmee in the shoulder.

"That music is so… weird." She said. "No… it was different."

"Better," I interjected, "because music was _real_ back then, none of that synthetic crap."

"Hey, it's not crap, it's them music _I_ listen to!" She argued.

"Then we need to get you into some better music!" Alice laughed.

Renesmee stared out the window in silence.

"So tomorrow" Emmett began. "I was thinking we drive the Saleen to school." He grinned at me, hopefully.

"No." I said, doing as Renesmee and looking out the window.

"Aaw, come on!"

"Emmett, how stupid are you? We are _not_ taking a Saleen to school. So many bad things could happen to it. Some jealous person could steal or vandalize it…" she trailed off, shuddering.

I shuddered as well. If _anything_ happened to that car…

"It's just a car" Renesmee said, obviously trying to get back at Alice and me. So she wanted to play it like this—

"Alice!" Renesmee shouted, shaking Alice's shoulder. Alice had a vision face on, staring out into the distance of some faraway place. She was gripping the door handle so tight, it was beginning to break under the pressure. "Alice!" Renesmee repeated, taking Alice's hand off the door handle. At Renesmee's touch, Alice snapped out of her trance.

"Oh…" she said quietly.

"What was it?" Emmett asked hurriedly, beginning to pull off to the side of the road.

"Nothing! Just keep going! Keep going home! Quickly!" She rushed. Emmett swerved quickly, slamming his foot on the accelerator. I reached over and steered him in the right direction once more that day.

"What did you see?" Renesmee asked.

"Wait till we get home…" Alice said, turning to stare out the window, deep in thought. I was about to look when she turned and snapped at me, "And no prying!" There goes my plan. I was burning with curiosity, and from the look on his face and the abnormal silence, so was Emmett. We drove the rest of the way home in silence.

When we sped up, Edward noticed, and got a look of understanding and worry upon seeing Alice's face. He sped up as well. Our cars raced along the road, covering 120 with ease. My Saleen could have covered way more distance and speed. Yes, think about something else, Jacob.

When we finally arrived home, we all jumped out of the car, Alice in such a hurry that she smacked her door into the side of her Porsche, completely ignoring the minor scratch in the Porsche as Emmett and I winced.

"Go get Carlisle and Esme!" Alice shouted. Rosalie ran out the garage door and into the house, a blonde blur. An instant later a Brunette blur was added to the Blonde one, and Rosalie and Esme stood in front of Alice. "Where's Carlisle?" Alice half snapped, half whined.

"Right here," he said, appearing behind Esme. "What is it? Rosalie said that you had a vision?"

"Yes… all right. Um… the Volturi are coming."

"What?" Jasper asked. Everyone started at Alice.

"But why?" Esme asked. "We haven't done anything!" She looked close to tears—if vampires could cry, that is.

"I don't know… something about Renesmee." Alice said.

"Her seventh birthday is coming up," Rosalie noted. "Two weeks from this Friday." Somehow the atmosphere got even more still and quiet.

Finally, Bella broke the silence. "So how long do we have, until…" she trailed off.

"Her birthday, or shortly after," Alice said with a thoughtful expression.

"Probably the day after," Edward said. "We all know how they can be. Polite whilst they go about an evil deed. They will be gracious enough to give us the actual day to celebrate, and then they will be here the next to deliver whatever the message or whatever it may be that they are coming for."

"So we have approximately sixteen days to develop a plan. I say that we call back everyone who was here seven years ago. Get ready for another fight. How many where there?" Jasper said, looking at Alice.

"Same amount… minus the witnesses. They don't need them this time…" she declared.

"Okay, Jasper, get Peter and Charlotte. Esme, call the Denali coven. Then Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, Bella and I will go out and try to recollect some of the nomads. Alice, stay here and keep looking, try to keep watch of them to see if they change plans, try to get details. Esme and Alice, greet the guests as they get here, explain what is going on with every detail you can. Jacob, keep guard of Renesmee. Do not let her out of your sight. We are all trusting that you can protect her from anything that could come her way and try to harm her. And Renesmee, sweetheart, stay in. Only go out when you need to hunt, and always take Jacob with you in case they plan a surprise that Alice misses. Let's go, and good luck, everyone, "Carlisle plotted.

Everyone ran into the house for their various reasons. Esme and Jasper for their phones, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, and Carlisle for a change of clothes.

Renesmee leaned against the hood of the Porsche, then looked up at me. "Let the watching begin… I'm never going to have a moment alone, am I?"

"No," I agreed. "Of course, you get privacy. I'm not going to watch you dress or take a shower, nothing like that."

"Good," she smiled. "Because then I'd have to kick your ass for being creepy." She examined her nails nonchalantly. "So why d'you think that they're coming?" she asked me.

"Because you will officially fully grown then. They probably want to see how you are doing. Maybe try to recruit you. Who knows?" I shrugged. "But you know what?" I put my hands on the hood of the car on either side of her, looking at her closely. "I will not let them get you."

She stared back at me for a long moment. Then she smiled lightly. "I know you won't." She pushed me out of her way and walked back toward the house, me following closely. She began to run, and I chased her, her letting out a scream of laughter.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was gone but me, Renesmee, Esme, and Alice. Alice was up in her room trying to have a vision. Esme was out in the kitchen cleaning the already spotless kitchen and talking to another coven of vampires on the phone. She had already called about ten others. I had no idea that there were so many vampires spread out all over the world, acting just like normal humans. To think, that possibly one tenth of the population were vampires, even that seemed overwhelming. The kid who never talks that sits next to you in English class. The lady working in the shop. The pale and beautiful stranger that is always lurking in clubs, searching out for its next victim. And you would never know it.

"I'm bored," Renesmee stated.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked.

"If you're going to be watching me 24/7, then keep me entertained while you're at it. I can't go to school or shopping, or anything fun like that."

"I wasn't told to entertain you, I was told to protect you," I teased. "Do what we did when I was a kid and got bored—watch some crappy, uninteresting show on the television." I threw her the remote. She flipped onto a news channel.

… _A sixteen year-old but pulled over on the side of the highway in northern Arizona, looking shocked. Police say that the boy was caught speeding. All information that will be released at the present time is that the boy somehow made it all the way there from Maine, with no idea of how he had gotten there. The boy said that the car seemed to be possessed, leading him there against his will. And into our next story, today our president Obama, who is our first black president, was spotted outside of a shopping mall…_

Renesmee put the channel on mute as a picture of President Obama holding a shopping bag outside of a malls' main entrance was shown. She looked at me with a smile. "You really did."

"Well I said I did, did I not?" I asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"You're so sweet," she drawled.

"Stop it." I warned her.

"Sweeeeeeeeee—" I put my hand over her mouth. She licked it.

I laughed. "Nice defence mechanism," I told her.

"I know, right?"

Esme walked into the living room and sat down in an armchair. "The Denali's should be here shortly. They said they'd gladly come again for such a sweet little thing." She smiled at Renesmee, who beamed.

"Because they don't know her that well," I added, getting an elbow to the stomach from Renesmee. I laughed. "See what I mean?"

Esme smiled. "Maybe instead of protecting Renesmee, you should worry about yourself."

"Yeah." Nessie stuck her tongue out at me, jumping away to the other end of the couch.

A little while later, some other vampires began to arrive. We all greeted them, Esme and Alice explaining what was going on while they all nodded. About eleven Renesmee went up to her room and got ready for bed. When she was in bed, I went into her room.

"What do you want?" she asked, faking a mean tone.

"I van to suck your blood," I said like Dracula. She laughed. "But no, really, I'm just here to watch you sleep." I kept my face serious, sitting down in a chair in the corner of her room.

"What? Really?" she looked shocked.

"Well, yeah, I was told to watch you 24/7. So that's what I'm going to do."

She threw a pillow at me, which I ducked easily. "Get out!" I stood up and went to perch on the end of her bed, staring her down. "Stop! Stop! Creep! STOP STARING AT ME!" I knew she hated being stared at. She got under her covers. I laughed and stood up.

"Goodnight. Call me if you need anything." I flipped on the baby monitor that had been in her room for nearly seven years now. The receiver was in the living room. I walked out of her room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

* * *

The next day was a very eventful one. About five in the morning, vampires from all over the world began to arrive. One was a coven from England, hiding in the heart of London. One girl, a brunette named Lily, was eyeing me curiously. I'd swear it was with interest. But I was probably imagining it.

Later that day when I was practicing the piano, playing The Subtle Touch by Joe Bongiorno, one of my favourites, I found out that I was not mistaken. She sat down on the bench next to me and smiled. In a light English accent she said, "That's a very beautiful song. Did you write it?"

"No, Joe Bongiorno did. A piano genius." I told her. "Only one of my favourites."

Her smile grew wider. "The song is great. So, Jacob, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you." I smiled back.

She batted her eyelashes at me. "So how old are you? Counting from the day you were born."

"Nearly twenty-five."

"Really? You seem more mature than that. I'm nearly twenty-seven. Close in age." Her smile got bigger, and I felt a bit uncomfortable suddenly.

"Oh, that's neat," I said, standing up. Going to go to a room with more people. "I have to check on Renesmee, but I'll talk to you later, all right? It was nice meeting—" she was across the room in seconds, pinning me against a wall.

"Is she your girlfriend, or what? Because you know, I could be a better girlfriend for you." She kissed me, and before I could pull away, I heard someone clear their throat. Renesmee! Thank God.

"I don't really think he's interested. Hands off, skank." Lily backed away. "Come on, Jacob." Renesmee turned and walked out of the room, and I followed closely.

She turned and looked at me. "Did..."

* * *

**A/N: **I always find that it leaves more of a hanger if the story is left off mid-sentence than if I were to read to the end of the chapter. So here's a random cliff hanger, ha, review or you'll be left hanging forever!

Hope you liked it!

**Rose Tyler**


	8. Smile Like You Mean It

Okay, so I was out of motivation for this until **Renesmee Cullen X **left a review asking if I'd post a new chapter by tomorrow, as it's her birthday. So of course I did! Thank her for my motivation, and tell her happy birthday!

* * *

**Jacob**

During the car ride home, Emmett and I popped in an 80's Metal Hits Cd, and the two of us and Alice were singing along.

_"Cause baby well be-  
At the drive-in  
In the old man's ford  
Behind the bushes  
Till I'm screamin for more  
Down the basement  
Lock the cellar door  
And baby…  
Talk dirty to me!"_

The next verse started, and Renesmee had a weird expression on her face.

"What?" Alice asked her. "Did our singing dazzle you?" she poked Renesmee in the shoulder.

"That music is so… weird." She said. "No… it was different."

"Better," I interjected, "because music was _real_ back then, none of that synthetic crap."

"Hey, it's not crap, it's them music _I_ listen to!" She argued.

"Then we need to get you into some better music!" Alice laughed.

Renesmee stared out the window in silence.

"So tomorrow" Emmett began. "I was thinking we drive the Saleen to school." He grinned at me, hopefully.

"No." I said, doing as Renesmee and looking out the window.

"Aaw, come on!"

"Emmett, how stupid are you? We are _not_ taking a Saleen to school. So many bad things could happen to it. Some jealous person could steal or vandalize it…" she trailed off, shuddering.

I shuddered as well. If _anything_ happened to that car…

"It's just a car" Renesmee said, obviously trying to get back at Alice and me. So she wanted to play it like this—

"Alice!" Renesmee shouted, shaking Alice's shoulder. Alice had a vision face on, staring out into the distance of some faraway place. She was gripping the door handle so tight, it was beginning to break under the pressure. "Alice!" Renesmee repeated, taking Alice's hand off the door handle. At Renesmee's touch, Alice snapped out of her trance.

"Oh…" she said quietly.

"What was it?" Emmett asked hurriedly, beginning to pull off to the side of the road.

"Nothing! Just keep going! Keep going home! Quickly!" She rushed. Emmett swerved quickly, slamming his foot on the accelerator. I reached over and steered him in the right direction once more that day.

"What did you see?" Renesmee asked.

"Wait till we get home…" Alice said, turning to stare out the window, deep in thought. I was about to look when she turned and snapped at me, "And no prying!" There goes my plan. I was burning with curiosity, and from the look on his face and the abnormal silence, so was Emmett. We drove the rest of the way home in silence.

When we sped up, Edward noticed, and got a look of understanding and worry upon seeing Alice's face. He sped up as well. Our cars raced along the road, covering 120 with ease. My Saleen could have covered way more distance and speed. Yes, think about something else, Jacob.

When we finally arrived home, we all jumped out of the car, Alice in such a hurry that she smacked her door into the side of her Porsche, completely ignoring the minor scratch in the Porsche as Emmett and I winced.

"Go get Carlisle and Esme!" Alice shouted. Rosalie ran out the garage door and into the house, a blonde blur. An instant later a Brunette blur was added to the Blonde one, and Rosalie and Esme stood in front of Alice. "Where's Carlisle?" Alice half snapped, half whined.

"Right here," he said, appearing behind Esme. "What is it? Rosalie said that you had a vision?"

"Yes… all right. Um… the Volturi are coming."

"What?" Jasper asked. Everyone started at Alice.

"But why?" Esme asked. "We haven't done anything!" She looked close to tears—if vampires could cry, that is.

"I don't know… something about Renesmee." Alice said.

"Her seventh birthday is coming up," Rosalie noted. "Two weeks from this Friday." Somehow the atmosphere got even more still and quiet.

Finally, Bella broke the silence. "So how long do we have, until…" she trailed off.

"Her birthday, or shortly after," Alice said with a thoughtful expression.

"Probably the day after," Edward said. "We all know how they can be. Polite whilst they go about an evil deed. They will be gracious enough to give us the actual day to celebrate, and then they will be here the next to deliver whatever the message or whatever it may be that they are coming for."

"So we have approximately sixteen days to develop a plan. I say that we call back everyone who was here seven years ago. Get ready for another fight. How many where there?" Jasper said, looking at Alice.

"Same amount… minus the witnesses. They don't need them this time…" she declared.

"Okay, Jasper, get Peter and Charlotte. Esme, call the Denali coven. Then Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, Bella and I will go out and try to recollect some of the nomads. Alice, stay here and keep looking, try to keep watch of them to see if they change plans, try to get details. Esme and Alice, greet the guests as they get here, explain what is going on with every detail you can. Jacob, keep guard of Renesmee. Do not let her out of your sight. We are all trusting that you can protect her from anything that could come her way and try to harm her. And Renesmee, sweetheart, stay in. Only go out when you need to hunt, and always take Jacob with you in case they plan a surprise that Alice misses. Let's go, and good luck, everyone, "Carlisle plotted.

Everyone ran into the house for their various reasons. Esme and Jasper for their phones, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, and Carlisle for a change of clothes.

Renesmee leaned against the hood of the Porsche, then looked up at me. "Let the watching begin… I'm never going to have a moment alone, am I?"

"No," I agreed. "Of course, you get privacy. I'm not going to watch you dress or take a shower, nothing like that."

"Good," she smiled. "Because then I'd have to kick your ass for being creepy." She examined her nails nonchalantly. "So why d'you think that they're coming?" she asked me.

"Because you will officially fully grown then. They probably want to see how you are doing. Maybe try to recruit you. Who knows?" I shrugged. "But you know what?" I put my hands on the hood of the car on either side of her, looking at her closely. "I will not let them get you."

She stared back at me for a long moment. Then she smiled lightly. "I know you won't." She pushed me out of her way and walked back toward the house, me following closely. She began to run, and I chased her, her letting out a scream of laughter.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was gone but me, Renesmee, Esme, and Alice. Alice was up in her room trying to have a vision. Esme was out in the kitchen cleaning the already spotless kitchen and talking to another coven of vampires on the phone. She had already called about ten others. I had no idea that there were so many vampires spread out all over the world, acting just like normal humans. To think, that possibly one tenth of the population were vampires, even that seemed overwhelming. The kid who never talks that sits next to you in English class. The lady working in the shop. The pale and beautiful stranger that is always lurking in clubs, searching out for its next victim. And you would never know it.

"I'm bored," Renesmee stated.

"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked.

"If you're going to be watching me 24/7, then keep me entertained while you're at it. I can't go to school or shopping, or anything fun like that."

"I wasn't told to entertain you, I was told to protect you," I teased. "Do what we did when I was a kid and got bored—watch some crappy, uninteresting show on the television." I threw her the remote. She flipped onto a news channel.

… _A sixteen year-old but pulled over on the side of the highway in northern Arizona, looking shocked. Police say that the boy was caught speeding. All information that will be released at the present time is that the boy somehow made it all the way there from Maine, with no idea of how he had gotten there. The boy said that the car seemed to be possessed, leading him there against his will. And into our next story, today our president Obama, who is our first black president, was spotted outside of a shopping mall…_

Renesmee put the channel on mute as a picture of President Obama holding a shopping bag outside of a malls' main entrance was shown. She looked at me with a smile. "You really did."

"Well I said I did, did I not?" I asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"You're so sweet," she drawled.

"Stop it." I warned her.

"Sweeeeeeeeee—" I put my hand over her mouth. She licked it.

I laughed. "Nice defence mechanism," I told her.

"I know, right?"

Esme walked into the living room and sat down in an armchair. "The Denali's should be here shortly. They said they'd gladly come again for such a sweet little thing." She smiled at Renesmee, who beamed.

"Because they don't know her that well," I added, getting an elbow to the stomach from Renesmee. I laughed. "See what I mean?"

Esme smiled. "Maybe instead of protecting Renesmee, you should worry about yourself."

"Yeah." Nessie stuck her tongue out at me, jumping away to the other end of the couch.

A little while later, some other vampires began to arrive. We all greeted them, Esme and Alice explaining what was going on while they all nodded. About eleven Renesmee went up to her room and got ready for bed. When she was in bed, I went into her room.

"What do you want?" she asked, faking a mean tone.

"I van to suck your blood," I said like Dracula. She laughed. "But no, really, I'm just here to watch you sleep." I kept my face serious, sitting down in a chair in the corner of her room.

"What? Really?" she looked shocked.

"Well, yeah, I was told to watch you 24/7. So that's what I'm going to do."

She threw a pillow at me, which I ducked easily. "Get out!" I stood up and went to perch on the end of her bed, staring her down. "Stop! Stop! Creep! STOP STARING AT ME!" I knew she hated being stared at. She got under her covers. I laughed and stood up.

"Goodnight. Call me if you need anything." I flipped on the baby monitor that had been in her room for nearly seven years now. The receiver was in the living room. I walked out of her room, shutting the door quietly behind me.

* * *

The next day was a very eventful one. About five in the morning, vampires from all over the world began to arrive. One was a coven from England, hiding in the heart of London. One girl, a brunette named Lily, was eyeing me curiously. I'd swear it was with interest. But I was probably imagining it.

Later that day when I was practicing the piano, playing The Subtle Touch by Joe Bongiorno, one of my favourites, I found out that I was not mistaken. She sat down on the bench next to me and smiled. In a light English accent she said, "That's a very beautiful song. Did you write it?"

"No, Joe Bongiorno did. A piano genius." I told her. "Only one of my favourites."

Her smile grew wider. "The song is great. So, Jacob, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you." I smiled back.

She batted her eyelashes at me. "So how old are you? Counting from the day you were born."

"Nearly twenty-five."

"Really? You seem more mature than that. I'm nearly twenty-seven. Close in age." Her smile got bigger, and I felt a bit uncomfortable suddenly.

"Oh, that's neat," I said, standing up. Going to go to a room with more people. "I have to check on Renesmee, but I'll talk to you later, all right? It was nice meeting—" she was across the room in seconds, pinning me against a wall.

"Is she your girlfriend, or what? Because you know, I could be a better girlfriend for you." She kissed me, and before I could pull away, I heard someone clear their throat. Renesmee! Thank God.

"I don't really think he's interested. Hands off, skank." Lily backed away. "Come on, Jacob." Renesmee turned and walked out of the room, and I followed closely.

She turned and looked at me. "Did..."

* * *

**A/N: **I always find that it leaves more of a hanger if the story is left off mid-sentence than if I were to read to the end of the chapter. So here's a random cliff hanger, ha, review or you'll be left hanging forever!

Hope you liked it!

**Rose Tyler**


	9. I Hate Having to Obey

I hated it when Sam laid down the law like that. I hated the feeling of having no choice. Of having to obey.

**-Jacob Black,**_** Breaking Dawn**_**, Chapter 8, p.157**

**Jacob**

I had driven as fast as my car would go down the deserted road, my mind flying times faster, when a figure stepped out in front of my car. I saw them about a mile away (sooner if my attention had diverted away from what I was doing and back to my problems' back at my family's house). I slammed down on the breaks, stopping about ten feet away from the figure. In a flash, a breeze came from the passengers' side as the door was flung open and the person was sitting next to me.

"Hello," I said politely, trying not to show my annoyance that he had stopped me. Always on my nerves, always in my way. He could never really just let me be, could he?

"Hello, Jacob." Edward said back. "I heard your thoughts a few miles away, though I'd better stop you before you drove you car off of a cliff."

"Yeah, well, wouldn't be the first time I've taken that into consideration." I muttered, both my hands tightening on the steering wheel slightly. "So… did you have any luck finding people?"

"Yes, we did. Quite a few, actually. We had the luck to find a coven in South America who we didn't know. There were more in their family than in ours. I think as for the amount of people Bella and I found, we have about twenty. The others are not back yet. How are things back at the house?"

"Fine, lots of people there. Renesmee is fine." I added.

"That's good to know. But I was referring to the people."

"Yeah, they're all great, I guess."

"Jacob, you know what I meant."

"No, I do not." I continued to play dumb, careful to keep my mind blocked from him.

"Some brunette girl, and your mother, is what I saw before you so rudely blocked me out. What's going no with them?"

"Um… the brunette is Lily. Long story there."

"Is it somewhat uncomfortable?" Edward's lips curved up into a jeering smile.

"No. I do not find her the least bit awkward. Or attractive for that matter. A bit annoying. Creepy."

"Comes off a bit strong?"

"I wouldn't say a bit. 'bit' generally means 'slightly'."

"Worse than slightly then?"

"No, I just said that." My voice dripped with sarcasm, a bit of my annoyance showing through. "Anyway, I need to drive, so…"

"Slow down. I am not done here yet." He said in a flat voice.

"Well then hurry it up." I growled back.

"What about your mother," he asked, his voice softer. "I thought that she had…" he trailed off.

"Died in a car accident when I was a kid? Yeah, well apparently not. She was saved by a vampire coven who is not living in Arizona. End of story, really."

"And you won't talk to her?"

"She left me." I said in the same, flat tone that he had used moments ago. "End of story. That's it."

"Did you ever think that maybe it's time for a sequel?" He said that as if it were finalizing the conversation.

"Okay, Socrates-" I stopped dead sentence when I saw his expression, and the way he stiffened up. "What is it?"

"They're here." he stated simply.

"Who is?" I asked, hoping for a different answer than I knew was the real one.

He gave me a look. No way to describe that one. Sort of along the lines of, 'how thick can you be?' "We need to get home. NOW." he said.

I turned and sped toward the house. Those words finalized what I had feared. As the car raced towards the house, I felt sick to my stomach for the first time since becoming a vampire.

They were here.

The Volturi.


	10. Critical Acclaim

I pulled into the driveway sloppily, and we ran towards the voices. Everyone was in the woods behind the house a few miles back, just like the first time they had come, back in Forks eight years ago. My heart was racing (metaphorically, of course) and I somehow felt dizzy. Nervous. What where they here for? The question that had been quietly nagging in the back of my mind was now screaming. I grabbed the back of Edwards' shirt right before we got into the clearing, making him come to a halt.

"I need to get to my daughter!" he whispered, gritting the words through his teeth.

"We need to listen for a minute. Figure out what's going on first. Does anybody know we're here?" I asked.

He glared at me for a moment, and then an expression of nervous understanding came into his eyes. "No, nobody knows. We're still about half a mile away from them."

We both listened closely, looking in the direction of the speaking.

"…sorry Carlisle! They surprised me, I hadn't been looking because for days now, they weren't planning on coming for another few days," Alice was saying to Carlisle.

"It's all right, Alice. They are our friends." Carlisle lied to her. His voice got louder, and we could tell that he had now turned to face the Volturi. "Welcome!" he called.

I looked at Edward and smirked, knowing that they were everything but.

"Carlisle Cullen, it is good to see you again! Esme, might I say, you look lovelier every time I see you." Aro's voice drawled.

"Thank you very much, Aro," Esme said in her sweet, high voice.

"What brings you?" Carlisle asked. Right down to business.

"Oh, we just thought we would stop by and see how your family is doing. You really did not need to assemble the troops." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Renesmee, is that really you? You used to be so tiny. How the time goes by, is that right?"

Renesmee said nothing.

"Ah, a bit shy, are we?" Aro continued.

"I do not speak to murderers who have tried to ruin my family." Came her only response.

"We have not tried to ruin your family." Marcus growled. "We have only done our jobs of making the vampire world a better place. If anything, we have helped your family," he spat.

"Now, now, Marcus," Aro said in his soothing voice. "She is young. She will understand in time."

Edward gritted his teeth, tensing up.

"What?" I asked.

"He's holding a hand out to her, coaxing her forward," Edward said, just as Aro's voice came floating through the trees to us.

"Come here, Renesmee, let me get a better look at you."

Edward ran faster than I'd ever seen him go, and I followed closely. Edward jumped in front of Renesmee and Bella with a defensive growl. Bella had her arm around Renesmee, pulling her away from Aro, a look matching Edwards on her face. There was a thirty foot gap between both groups. Carlisle stood closest to the Volturi, and I went to stand behind him, in case I was needed to protect him and everyone else. Ready to blow up a force field or give them all massive migraines.

"It's the newborn," Caius said under his breath, as if seeing me had been greatly anticipated.

"Jacob Cullen. So nice to see you." Aro smiled at me.

"Wasn't so nice the first time, though, was it?" I asked.

Aro did not say anything, only smiled. I folded my arms across my chest, casually. "Perhaps… perhaps my brothers and I gave you the wrong impression of ourselves. We are not the bad guys, as all of you look at us. We are here simply to maintain peace."

"Yet you kill innocent humans every time you get a little thirsty. Mass murder. Very peaceful." I said.

"We get thirsty, just as you do. Nothing is as seductive as the scent of human blood. A treat we get for taking care of our world. How you do not drink the human blood, is beyond me. It amazes me."

"Perhaps you should try it sometime before judging. You say you're peaceful; you try to maintain peace and prevent murder. You travel all over the world to cover up mass murders by other vampires, yet you do it yourselves. Filthy hypocrites. You are no better than them. You're not civilized. You're just monsters, very, very old monsters. We do not drink human blood, because it is murder. A murder of someone with a mind, soul, family, friends, loved ones. People who will be missed. How you can manage to drink their innocent blood is beyond me. I am the one who is amazed." Disgust was dripping off of my every word, and the more I looked at those monsters, the more I hated them. Aro's brothers both tensed up, looking at me angrily.

"Now, now," Aro said, putting his hands on each of their shoulders. "Our friend here is young, and he has only had a mere taste of the lives we indulge in."

"What are you here for?" Rosalie asked. "Renesmee hasn't done anything wrong. Can't you just let her, let our family, live in peace?" Anger shot through the air in her every word, and Jasper sent a wave of peace through her. Her face got slightly calmer.

"We aren't here for your niece, or sister, or whatever it is she is posed as," Jane smirked, standing off to the side of the Volturi. "We couldn't care less of what that child is doing."

"Then what, exactly, are you here for?" Edward asked.

Jane smirked. "Your brother here."

Everyone else followed her gaze to me.

"No." Esme said, sounding ready to attack. The most menace I had ever heard in her voice. The Volturi all looked frightened for a moment, and all on our side looked shocked.

"It is true," Aro said. "Only it was not intended for our purpose to be put out so bluntly." He glared at Jane.

"Esme, let me handle this," I said, trying to comfort her. I turned to the Volturi and spat, "No."

"But what you could do for us!" Marcus whispered. "Such a beautiful, powerful ability. Wouldn't you even consider?"

"I think his decision is final." Carlisle said flatly. "If you could please get off of my property, now…"

"We will not leave without your son," Caius said.

"Now, now, Caius," Aro told his brother. "We will leave now." He said to Carlisle. "But you will find…" his eyes met mine. "That we can be very persuasive when we need to be." He turned, placing hands on his brother's shoulders, turning them along with him. They retreated into the trees, followed by the few others they had brought with them. Jane lingered, giving us one last evil glance, before turning and following her leaders. Suddenly, she turned and shot a wave of pain toward us all. Bella and I were quick to react. She quickly shielded everyone, while I shot my own torture to Jane. The wave of translucent white hit Jane hard, and she flew to the ground, screaming in pain.

Her brother turned first, Alecs' mist shot towards me, and Bella shot a wave over me. I used his moment of hesitation due to shock and annoyance, to shot his power back at him. _Blind_ I thought, and his power obeyed me. "I can't see!" he screamed.

The other Volturi were back quickly. Chelsea hit Bella with her powers, and Bella removed her shield from me, giving me an evil look. Her power was to break ties between people, kill any relationship. A bit like mind control. I shot pain at her, and Alec tried to take advantage of that by having a go at me again. Alice tackled him and beheaded him.

"STOP!" Aro shouted. "Withdraw!" All of his deviants stopped attempting their powers. "Chelsea, return Bella her ties with Jacob at once."

Bella suddenly gasped. "Jacob…" she sounded horrified.

"It's fine, Bella. It's not your fault." I said. She still looked horrified, and Edward went to her and whispered something in her ear. I turned my attention back to the Volturi, and whatever awaited us.

"I am very sorry that they attacked, _against my orders_," Aro apologized. "Alice, if you could please put Alec's head back on…"

"Sorry," Alice said, brushing herself off and picking Alec's head up, placing it back on his tense body.

"That's quite all right. Come all," Aro said, this time making sure his guard all departed before him. He stopped with his back to us, and stood still as the rest of his group went on. Finally, he turned and looked at me. "Remember, Jacob Cullen. We are very, very persuasive." And with that, he turned and walked swiftly off.


	11. Back To Black

Sorry, I accidentally deleted this chapter. :( But don't worry, you didn't miss much. What happens is Bella kisses Jacob and reveals that she still has feelings for him, and he quickly leaves the Cullen family.


	12. Can't Get You Out Of My Mind

A kiss is not just a kiss  
A smile is more than a smile  
Maybe we get together, maybe forever  
Maybe just for a while

I've seen the look in your eyes  
I've seen you wondering why  
There's a center of graviy  
Bring you near to me  
Nearer all the time

And I'm petrified, I'm hypnotised  
Every time you walk by  
And I can't get you out of my

Mind

**-Aqualung, "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind"**

It had been a month since I had left. I now resided on Cardiff, Wales. Though at the moment I was in London. I loved London, but Lily's coven was around here. See why I lived over in Cardiff? I didn't mean to be rude to Lily, but I honestly wasn't interested. When I was about to leave, Esme had handed me a piece of paper with a phone number written on it in a neat but unfamiliar handwriting. She said it was Lily's, and she'd told her to give it to me. I hadn't wanted it, but the look on Esme's face told me that it would make her feel better if I took it.

All of my family had been reluctant to see me on my own, but they didn't do anything to stop me. For that, I was grateful, though. Bella had tried to speak to me, but I told Alice what had happened, and she helped me avoid her. Of course, I had put a block on that secret in Alice's mind. Edward could not know. Edward would never know.

Renesmee wasn't happy about me leaving. She got mad when Edward told her she couldn't go with me, and even more mad when I'd told her she's better off there. She insisted on going, so I'd told her that I didn't want her to go. I didn't mean it like that, but it had come out that way, and she had refused to believe that I didn't mean it. So she'd stopped talking to me. She'd even refused to come out of her room to say goodbye to me, I knew what she was trying, I think. It wouldn't get me to stay. Nothing could have. Maybe she really was mad. But as bad as I felt, I couldn't afford to be around her mother for the next hundred years or so. I had all of eternity to fix things with Renesmee.

So for now, I am alone leaning against a railing, looking across the water at the London Eye. The wind was blowing, and hardly anybody was out. They had all taken shelter, as it was an overcast day and due to rain at any time. My car was parked a few feet away from me, so I was covered.

"Deep into the depths of your utmost other-worldly thoughts?" A pretty voice chimed from behind me. I looked back. A smiling girl with medium length, straight blonde hair came up to stand beside me.

"Hardly other-worldly." I smiled back. I turned my attention back to the Eye.

"Oh, I understand. Family issues?" She asked.

"Somewhat."

"Care to share?" At the questioning look I gave her, she laughed. "Okay, I guess that's a bit odd thing for total strangers to discuss, isn't it? I'm Natalie." She extended her hand jokingly, and laughing, I shook it.

Jacob. And no, I don't really care. You seem nice enough. Basically… well, an issue with my brother's wife."

"Don't like her that much?" She asked. I glanced at her out of the side of my eye. Her hair blew gently around her face, and she stared thoughtfully over the water. I averted my gaze towards the direction she was looking in.

"Not exactly that… of sorts." I finally answered.

"Of sorts." She repeated. Smiling again, she turned and looked at me. "Of what sorts, exactly?"

How much should I tell her? "We… had a past. And even though it's the past for me… it's starting to catch up with her."

"Oh, I see. And you came over to the UK to get away from your family?"

"Is that why you're here now?" I asked. Suddenly, there was an eruption overhead. A gentle rain began to drip on to our heads. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"If I say yes, how can I be sure you won't kill me?" she asked.

"Oh, you can't be," I joked.

"Hmm… well I think I will trust the odds today. Sure."

I opened the door for her, and then slowly went around to the driver's side. As I walked, I thought. What was I doing? I couldn't afford to spend any time with a human. Humans and vampires don't mix. We stay out of their way, they simply dismiss us as freaks, and we all get on with it. So what was it about Natalie? I felt something towards her. She was special to me, somehow. She seemed different. And I felt an odd sense of loyalty towards her, for which I had no idea as to why. And honestly, it scared me. Just a simple human girl, one I barely even knew, and I wanted to protect her from any harm that could possibly come her way. I shook my head. What was wrong with me?

I opened the door and slid into my seat. "Where to?"

"Hmm…" she looked out the window for a moment before answering. "How about we just sit here for a few minutes? You never answered my question."

"And you never answered mine."

"I just did. I said, and quote, 'hmm… how about we just sit here for a few minutes? You never answered my question.'"

I grinned. "And I just said—" I mocked her—"and quote, 'And you never answered mine.' Would you care for me to repeat your response to me then, as well?"

"Much as I'd love to play a game of sarcasm with you all day, Jacob, I have better things to do… Like listen to why you happen to be in London?"

"I'm only here for the day. I live in Cardiff."

"Kind of a far drive, isn't it?"

"Not the way I drive," I answered.

She just laughed. "So what about your family?"

What could it hurt to tell her the story we told everyone? "I was living in America—"

"Which explains the American accent."

"What about your American accent?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

"Your story first, I'll get to mine. Stop trying to dodge the bullet."

"Right. Well if you could so kindly refrain from interrupting me again—"

"Jeeze," she interrupted. We both laughed.

"Anyway… my parents adopted my siblings and me. And we move around a lot. My adoptive father is a doctor. He likes to help people all over the place. About five weeks ago, my adopted sister, Bella, who married my adopted brother, Edward, all of a sudden just…" I couldn't find the right words to explain it.

"I understand," Natalie nodded.

"That makes one of us," I grimaced, still deep in thought.

"So you moved here as soon as you were of age?" she asked.

Better her think that than try to reach any closer to the truth. "Yes. I needed to get away from them. I was sort of suffocating around them, if that makes sense."

"Yeah, it does. That's why I'm here." She frowned.

"What's your story?" I asked.

"Father and mother didn't like me. Mother was an alcoholic, father was a lawyer. I was their only child, and they couldn't have cared less about me. My grandfather did. But he died when I was young."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm here in England now. I'm safe from them." She forced a smile. "What about your… your family? Your mother and father? You said you were adopted. You must not have had anyone?"

"My mother died when I was very young. My father quite a few years ago." At least part of that wasn't a lie. Billy was still back in Washington, perfectly intact. His health was going, but he wasn't dead, at least.

"What's your adopted family like?" she asked.

"My father is great. As I said, he's a doctor. He loves helping people, and his wife is as kind as him. Very motherly to us all, as if we were her own."

"How many siblings do you have?"

I thought for a moment. "Seven." I said; to her, my moment to think went unnoticed.

"Seven? Really?"

"Yeah. I've already mentioned Edward and Bella. Bella has a younger sister, Renesmee. A year younger. Then there's Alice; she's small, but she's hyper and can be all over the place at all times. And totally fashion obsessed."

"I think I'd get on well with her." Natalie smiled slightly.

"Oh no, not you too!" I joked.

"Yeah, learn to deal with it." She threatened. What did that mean? I continued on.

"Jasper, her boyfriend—"

"What, are your adoptive parents some sort of matchmakers?"

"No, they all found each other before they were adopted. _Anyway_" I continued.

"Sorry."

"Yeah. _Anyway_," she smirked at that as I went on, "He's quiet and keeps to himself. He's cool, though. Emmett, he's awesome. I love hanging out with him. Just a child in big-boy pants. And Rosalie is really sarcastic and somewhat self-absorbed. But in a good way. She's nice once you get to know her. She's warmed up towards me, more than she was at first, definitely. They're also, as you may have guessed it, an item. And that's about it for my family."

We then talked for a long while about everything and nothing.

"So what about you?"

"I've said all there is to say."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Eighteen. Same as you, I presume?"

"You are correct. When did you move here?"

"As soon as I was eighteen. April 27th."

"And you live in London all by yourself?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"A bit dangerous for a young girl to live alone in a city with so many dangers." I said.

"Something tells me after today, I won't be alone as much." She looked at me. "Will I?"

She really wanted me around? But why?

"Why exactly would you assume that?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Please don't sound creeped out, Jacob." She pleaded."I really don't want to scare you away. But… something seems different about you. And I feel like… like we should be together. Like we need each other, and it was fate that told me to speak you today."

I was quiet.

"Jacob?" she asked worriedly.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing." I said to her. She looked somewhat relived that I wasn't scared away. But I was scared. How far was this going to go? A human. So many things could go wrong. I knew in my heart that I could never hurt her, and I also felt almost as if I loved her. But it couldn't be. Could it?

Many thoughts raced through my head, but as for the time being, I didn't care. Not as long as I had Natalie sitting by my side.


	13. Protecting Me

Whenever, where ever  
I'll protect you  
No matter what  
Hold you tight, with all my might  
And I'll never let you go

-**-Aly and Aj, Protecting Me**

* * *

**Jacob**

The rain hit the ceiling overhead. My house, now another part of my family's numerous estate collection, was set back a few miles into the woods. It was slightly large, and at times, when it was dark outside, sometimes when I'd stand looking out from the glass-walled office I had to the right at the top of the stairs, looking out over the canopy of trees, I felt very alone. Luckily, I had Natalie.

I usually met her in London four or five times a week. Ever since the day I had met her four months before, I didn't like her being alone there. Such a bit city, and the crime rate was high. So I'd go down to London about three, pick her up at her job (which was a clothing shop, because she loves clothes), and spent quite a few hours with her. We had a ton in common, and never ran out of things to talk about. We grew close quickly. Dangerously close.

My girlfriend, who I loved dearly, was a human. It would be better for her if I left her now. But the thought brought excruciating pain to my heart. I guess I was being selfish.

I could never tell her the truth about me, so we could never be together. If I told her the truth, she'd probably run away. I was a monster. Maybe I should just give up on love, or even being with a family. Maybe I _was_ meant to be alone.

I sat in the living room (kind of an ironic name for a room in a vampire's house), watching as the rain hit the rounded wall of glass, sliding down the side and falling to the ground below. The living room, which was off the side in the back of the house, was half plaster, half glass. The walls were a dark cream color, which then merged into a thick but very clear glass wall, which had a rounded corner up on the ceiling. I had it changed like that when I moved in, because I liked to look out over the forest, and watching rain run down it calmed me. In the room was an L-shaped leather couch, with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall in the right-hand corner next to where the glass began.

I had filled the kitchen with everything you would normally have in a kitchen, minus the food. I didn't bother pretending I needed food; I was alone, so it would go unnoticed I didn't buy any, unlike my family (it would look worrying if Esme never bought any food, with so many kids). The counters were all black marble, and the floors, like the rest of the house, were hardwood. Black cherry wood, to be precise. The only furniture in that room was two barstools at the counter.

There were five bedrooms upstairs. They were all empty, except for my room at the back of the hallway, which had a king-sized bed and my clothes in the closet. The room next to it had a single bed.

If Esme and Alice ever came here, I'm sure they'd fill the house with furniture and paintings and such, but I didn't see the need for any of that. I had the odd feeling I wouldn't be here much longer. But where else would I go? I hate those feelings.

I broke out of my trance, averting my eyes from the glass to the television. I picked up the remote and flipped through the stations, not really looking for anything in particular. As I flipped through the channels, I went past the news. Less than a millisecond later, I was back on the channel, eyes glued to the report.

"_Thomas Rodson, 53 year old owner of the used book store "Old Treasures", located a mere block away from the popular tourist attraction the London Eye, was found dead in the alley behind the shop. He had suffered from various wounds that resembled human teeth marks, and was pronounced dead upon being found by shop assistant Sophie Myar two hours later. She had come in for her shift at promptly one o'clock pm, and was not able to find her boss, who was usually in the back room. No other information is being released at the present time, Myar was quoted saying, 'it looked as if all of the blood were drained from his body.' No more information is released at the present time, but we will keep you updated if any more information is released. All we can hope for is that the culprit will be caught and brought to justice. In other news…"_

I turned off the TV, staring at the blank screen in shock. Human teeth marks? 'All the blood 'drained from his body'? I knew instantly that a vampire was loose in London. I wondered if the Volturi knew. But something told me that they wouldn't get around to taking care of him or her until a few more humans had died. It looked like it were up to me to take care of it. That thought scared me. I had never fought by myself. I always knew what I was up against. But I had to take care of the vampire, to protect all of the innocent humans who resided in London. Natalie…

I jumped into my car and began to drive. I had to get to her before… I bit my tongue. No, I wouldn't go there. She was definitely okay. I stopped thinking and focused on the road. Suddenly, the miles and the time between us was way too much, way too long, too far away. I accelerated.

When I finally made it to London, I drove straight to the shop Natalie worked in, _London Style_. I walked in quickly, and glanced around the store. Not seeing her, I walked up to the girl who was standing at the nearest checkout counter. She looked eighteen or nineteen, and began to eye me with interest.

"Hey," I said. "Is Natalie here?"

"Natalie White?" She asked. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up; Natalie White, Jacob Black.

"Yes. Is she still here?" I asked quickly.

"You Jacob?" she asked.

"Yes…" I answered, impatience and annoyance leaking through my voice.

She didn't notice. We have a dumb one here, apparently. "Wow, you _are_ cute."

"Thank you. Now is she here?"

"Just left. Said something about going home."

"Great." I muttered, cursing under my breath. I turned and began walking towards the door.

"Hey," The girl called after me. I turned and looked at her. "If things don't work out between you and Natalie…"

"I'll be sure to give you a call." I told her sarcastically. I turned and jumped in my car, speeding towards her apartment. I pulled up sloppily onto the curb in front of her building, running at least one hundred MPH, up the stairs. I didn't even care if any humans saw me. I ran up to her door and knocked once, and then began pounding on it. "Natalie?" I called. I searched for her mind, finding nothing. She wasn't home. I bolted back down the stairs, jumping into my car. Then I realized.

There was a vampire on the loose, anywhere in London. And I had no idea where my Natalie was. Panic began to flow through me, and I felt slightly dizzy. _Think Jacob, think_, I kept thinking to myself. _Where would she be?_ But I had no idea. Groceries? Post office? Book store? She could be doing anything, from visiting friends to something as easy to overthink as getting her nails done. Panic continued to fill my head, so I just began to randomly drive, looking for her, listening for her mind every now and then. Finally, much to my relief, I saw her walking out of a phone store. I slapped myself in the forehead. I could have just called her. I pulled up to the curb and rolled down the window.

She looked up and smiled. "Hey, Jacob. Didn't know you were going to be in town today."

I jumped out of the car and hugged her, taking her by surprise. She hugged me back. "What's wrong?"

"I heard about the killer. I was worried." I said.

She smiled. "Aaw, you were worried about me? That's so sweet." She pulled my head down and kissed my forehead.

I had to think of a way to get her away from London. I had to protect her, no matter what it took. "Of course I was. Look, um… I don't really want you here, while the killer is on the loose. I'd worry too much." I glanced around nervously. I don't know what I was expecting to see. Possibly an inhumane vampire planning to kill my girlfriend. I knew that was crazy, but you know, you think things when you're worried.

"Well… I live here. Where would I go to?" she asked.

"Come live with me." I knew it was a dangerous idea, living with a human. But she wasn't safe here. I'd try to act human around her. I could do it. Most likely…

She looked at me, slightly shocked. But she gave the answer I was hoping to hear. "Sure." She walked around the car and climbed into the passenger's seat. I stood on the pavement for a moment, and then got into the driver's seat. "But can you take me back to my apartment first, so I can pack up?"

"Sure, sure," I said. I drove towards her apartment, this time pulling in smoothly. I got out of the car and followed her in. She walked into her room and pulled out a suitcase. "Anything I can help you with?" I asked.

"Should I bring everything?" she asked me.

"Do you want to come back, when everything settles down?"

She looked at me long and hard. "No, I don't think I want to."

Instead of worrying me like that should have, it made me want to smile.

Later that night, we were sitting in my living room. I was sitting back on the couch, and Natalie was sitting in my lap, leaning her back against my chest, head on my shoulder. I had my arms wrapped around her protectively. She was flipping through the channels on the TV randomly, finally stopping when she saw the news.

"_Another victim was found dead, with wounds similar to those of Thomas Rodson, who was murdered earlier today. There were teeth marks on the neck of the corpse, eighteen year old Denise Thompson, shop assistant at the popular store _London Style. _Co-workers say she was on her way out when a man walked up to her and began speaking to her. She was smiling, and they thought she knew him. Five minutes later, a passbyer found her body lying behind her car. Nobody got a clear look at the man as it was night time by then, so nobody can tell a simple detail such as hair color or height. Police are now stepping up their searches, determined to catch this killer. More updates on the story as we get them…"_

Natalie turned off the TV. She was quiet. "Natalie?"

She turned her head into my shoulder and began to sob. Then I remembered. Denise had been the name on the name tag of the girl at the counter at London Style—the shop Natalie worked at. A friend of Natalie's had been killed. It made me feel sick. Now I had to catch this vampire. If Natalie had been there instead of the poor girl who had been…

Natalie had gone to bed in the room next door to mine, which she had taken over, and I was lying on my bed, bored. I had a TV in there, and I was watching Family Guy. Normally I enjoyed it, but at the moment, seeing Peter and friends trying to make the British leave Quahog wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been. I couldn't do anything else, because Natalie had to think I was sleeping. Oh the fun of pretending to be human.

My door cracked open. Natalie poked her head around the corner. "Mind if I come in?"

"No, come in," I said. She came in and sat down next to me, laying her head on my chest. I put an arm around her. "Are you all right?"

"My co-worker… I saw her today… she was perfectly all right, and now…" she trailed off, her words catching in her throat.

I put the TV on mute. "I know, I know. Just be glad it wasn't you."

"But it could have been me, Jacob! What if you hadn't come and picked me up? What if I had stayed at work a while longer? I could be dead right now, and nobody could have any idea why. And my friend… she was so young. Now she's going to have a funeral, so young…"

I hugged her tighter. "I'll keep you safe, Natalie. I promise."

"I know you will." She muttered into my chest, wrapping her arm around me, and she drifted off into sleep. I held her while she slept, stroked her hair when she muttered things. The words she muttered somewhat frightened me. I heard my name, Denise's name, something about a killer. But what worried me the most was what she muttered about 3 am.

"Jacob…"

"What?" I asked her, thinking that she was waking up.

"The killer… is… vampire…" She grabbed me tighter, and fell silent.

About seven, I slipped out of bed, being sure to wrap the covers around Natalie. I went downstairs and called Carlisle. He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Carlisle. Is this a bad time?"

"No, not at all. How's it going?"

"Well… we have a problem here." I said. "There's a vampire loose in London."

"What?" he sounded surprised.

"Two people were killed by it yesterday. I went and got my girlfriend—"

"Girlfriend?" Carlisle asked, sounding even more surprised.

"Um… yeah. I meant to tell you about her." I said lamely.

"Human?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

"Do you plan to change her?"

I choked. What exactly _was_ I going to do? "I… I don't know. It's sort of hard, trying to imagine how to explain to her that I'm a vampire." As soon as the word "vampire" had left my mouth, I had turned to see Natalie standing in the kitchen doorway. I couldn't put words to the expression on her face. "Um… I'll call you back," I told Carlisle, pressing the button on the phone. Then I slowly raised my eyes to meet hers.


	14. What About Us?

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, her hair, Doctor Who, rain, glass, hugs, Corvettes from Hertz car rental, or the bar stool that Natalie sat on. I do, however, own an Edward Cullen action figure with opposable arms.

* * *

What about us?  
What about love?  
What about saying  
That we'll never give up?

**- John Barrowman, **_**What About Us?**_

* * *

"Natalie…" I searched my mind for the right thing to say. I made my face calm, as if I had merely been talking about golf. Well, I wouldn't have been. But that's beside the point.

"All right, Jacob?" I could not read her expression.

"Yeah, you just startled me," I answered.

"So…" She folded her arms across her chest, walking slowly around me. I remained facing the doorway as she went to pull out one of the bar stools behind me and sat down. "Vampire?"

I did not turn to face her. "What about them?"

I felt her warm hand on my chin, pulling my face around towards hers. "I know what you said." I knew by the look in her eyes that it was too late for me to try to cover up what she now already knew. She turned and sat back down in her seat. I opened my mouth to speak, but the look she gave me silenced me. "So how old are you, Jacob? Or, is that even your name?"

"That is my name. And how old do I look?"

She shrugged, wrinkling her eyebrows. " dunno… about my age? Give or take a few years."

"Yes. Now Natalie, do you honestly believe in vampires?"

"Always have. Anything's possible. Even… I dunno, werewolves."

I snorted. She looked at me with an angered expression. "You think this is funny, do you? I just find out my boyfriend is a vampire, and he's sitting here having a good laugh at it!"

"No, not that," I said quickly.

"What then. You're telling me…" she stared at the ceiling for a moment. "You mean to tell me that werewolves are real, as well?"

"Long story, but, yes."

"So is there anything else you were forgetting to tell me?" she asked.

"No, I'm a vampire. That about sums it up." I casually leaned against the counter.

"So what about me, then?"

"What about you?" I asked, confused.

"About me!" At my expression, she sighed. "What are you keeping me around for? What, am I like a toy to you? Are you keeping me around for dinner?"

"No." I said quickly, "never. Not you."

"Not me." She laughed. "Then who? Are you that killer going around, then? Are you the one who killed Denise, and that shop keeper?"

"That wasn't me."

"Do you know who, then? A friend of yours?"

"No friend of mine would kill humans, believe me. Me, and my family, for that matter, we try to blend in. We only kill animals. Whoever is committing these murders though, is evil. I need to try and stop him before he hurts anyone else."I put my face in my hands, frustrated. A moment later, a felt her hand on my shoulder. I removed my hands from my face, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me as tightly as a human could. I hugged her back, gently.

"I'll help," she muttered into my shoulder.

"No." I pulled back quickly. She looked startled, and took a few steps back. "I won't allow you to go anywhere near that monster. Do you understand that?"

She didn't reply, but instead stared down at the floor. I gently lifted her chin with my fingertips. "I do not want to lose you."

"What's so special about me?" she asked. "Just a random human girl. Why do you care so much? Why me, in the first place?"

"Because I love you." Yet another unreadable expression crossed her face. Just then, the phone rang. I quickly snatched it up. "Hello?"

"Jacob?" I heard Alice's voice. "Jacob, nice to hear from you. Couldn't it have been just to say hi, though? Why evil vampires roaming the streets of London?"

"Why not?"

"What's this I hear about a human girlfriend? What's her name?"

"Natalie."

"Am I going to get a new sister?"

"We haven't talked about that yet."

"Well does she want—"

"I don't know. Let her chose what she wants."

"Okay, okay. Well I can't wait to meet her tonight." Alice sounded completely giddy, excitement filling her voice.

"Tonight?" I could hear the surprise in my own voice.

"Well, yeah. Me, Jasper, Emmett, and possibly Rosalie, will be coming so that we can investigate this vampire. Problem will be solved by this time tomorrow." She sounded very self-assured.

"Glad to hear you think so."

"Yep. Well, have to go pack. See you later." I heard the phone click as she hung up.

"Who was that?" Natalie asked.

"It was my sister. Her and a few of my other siblings are coming tonight. Check out this vampire thing."

"Can't wait to meet them." She smiled.

"What?" I asked, worried about what her reason for that smile was.

"Nothing." She walked past me, still smiling. "I'm gonna go take a shower, get dressed and cleaned up a bit." She walked up the stairs, leaving me standing there, confused.

* * *

"What if they don't like me?" Natalie fussed. I laughed.

"Isn't that what every girl who is about to meet her boyfriend's family says?" I teased.

She laughed. "But what if they don't?"

"Believe me, they will." She looked at me doubtfully. I heard a car pull up, and we both turned our heads towards the front window. I walked over to the door and opened it to find Alice and Rosalie standing there. Jasper and Emmett were unloading the rental car (a Corvette from Hertz). So far, I counted six flowery suitcases. They were still unloading.

"Hey!" Alice said, coming inside and giving me a quick hug. She ran over to Natalie and quickly hugged her, too. "Hi, Natalie, it's so great to meet you! I'm Alice. You know, Jacob's sister. Want to go shopping later? I haven't shopped in London for ages."

Natalie laughed. "Nice to finally meet you. And sure, I love shopping!"

"Great, a willing victim," Rosalie said sarcastically.

I smiled at her.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked.

"I missed you." I made my smile even larger.

She laughed, and the hugged me. I noticed that she did not say anything to Natalie, or much acknowledge that she was even there.

"Natalie, Rosalie. Rosalie, Natalie," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Natalie said uncertainly. Rosalie just nodded, and went back outside to help Emmett and Jasper with the suitcases.

Alice frowned for a moment, and then turned to Natalie. "Don't worry about her. She just doesn't like meeting new people." She went off to check out the house.

Natalie walked over to stand arm-to-arm by me. She looked at me. "Did I do something?" she whispered. I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry about her. It's a long story, I'll tell you later." She nodded and leaned her head against my shoulder. Alice danced out of the kitchen.

"Jacob, you need some art, some more furniture, some _something_ in here. We'll buy some later when we're out shopping, though. Won't we, Natalie?"

"Sure," Natalie laughed. "I think a piano may look good over there." She pointed to an empty corner of the room.

Alice's eyes lit up. "That is exactly what I was thinking!"

"No, not a piano." I groaned. I looked down at Natalie. "Thanks for that." I took my arm off of her shoulders and walked outside. I heard her laughter coming from behind me.

"Jacob, long time, no see. Can't say I've missed having you around," Emmett said as I approached them.

"Watch it, Emmett. It rains a lot here, and this _is_ my house. I don' have to let you in." I grabbed some of the bags, and Jasper slammed the trunk shut. I led them to one of the rooms upstairs, and we set all of their stuff down. Rosalie went into the bathroom to "freshen up".

"So, what about this vampire in London?" Jasper asked me as soon as she was out of earshot.

"It's killed two people. An older man and one of Natalie's friends."

"When's it been striking?" Emmett asked.

"Between the hours of 10 pm and midnight, so far."

"So we go later tonight and try to find him." Jasper had his brows furrowed, contemplating something. Most likely a course of action.

"The two of us will go, why don't you stay and protect Natalie from the Rain of Alice," Emmett offered.

"Sure, sure."

Three hours later, after some "catching up" (which consisted of me taunting Emmett and Rosalie, and them taunting me back), Emmett and Jasper decided to head out. They went out and got in the rental car, following its GPS to find London. Jasper kissed Alice on the cheek.

"See you later."

"Bye," she said.

"Have fun, Buffy," I told him.

"He does have the beautiful hair," Natalie added.

"Oh yeah, sort of the eyes, too." I smiled at Jasper. He kept his usual pained expression on his face and walked out the door after Emmett.

As soon as the door had shut behind them, Alice turned to Natalie. "So, can I do your hair and makeup?"

"Random. But sure." Natalie got up and went with Alice up the stairs. I turned my attention back to the show that we had been watching. Doctor Who.

"You know, Natalie looks a lot like Rose," I commented to Rosalie, who was sitting in the chair across the room. She turned to look at me, an unamused expression on her face.

"What about Natalie, Jacob? What do you plan to do with her? Are you really going to change her?"

I did not say anything.

"You weren't thinking at all when you drug her into this, were you, Jacob? Look at her. How beautiful she is, how sweet she is, how much life is in her. Are you really going to take all of that away from her?"

"Rosalie, please. I'm waiting until this whole vampire in London thing blows over."

"Emmett and Jasper will take care of him tonight. So then what? Going to pack her up and take her back home?"

I knew I should. But it just did not seem right. "Let her decide."

"Bella decided. But now look at her. She really didn't decide at all." Her voice got softer. " Let Natalie go to live out a full and happy life. She can find someone else, have his child, grow old, just like a normal person."

I knew she was right. Right then, if I could have, I would have cried. My heart had already decided. I needed to let Natalie go. "I'll… I will when they get back. Tomorrow."

She nodded. "Good job, Jacob. Unlike Edward, and even unlike me, you made the decision to let the one you love life.

Once again, I didn't reply. Just stared out the glass wall as rain ran down it.


	15. Time

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking  
And racing around to come up behind you again  
The sun is the same in the relative way, but youre older  
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

**--Pink Floyd, _Time_**

* * *

**Natalie**

I cried. For the first half hour of the cab ride, I cried. The cab driver never said a word to me. He must see things like this all the time.

Not wanting to bother him, I let my sobs form into a lump in my throat. Silent tears streamed down my face.

He didn't say it back.

That would forever haunt me. That blank look on his face, when I had said it. He had said nothing back. Just shut the door.

But he'd said it before. Yesterday. So why not today?

I had hardly slept the night before, and the crying had exhausted me. I fell into a deep sleep. I do not know how long I was asleep for. All I recall is a dream. Jacob's face, a bang, a loud grinding noise, Jacob smiling, me and Alice shopping, the shriek of metal against metal. I had no idea which was the dream and which was reality. After that, all I remembered was nothing. Just blackness.


	16. The Ultimate Choice

Our mind thinks of death.  
Our heart thinks of life

Our soul thinks of Immortality.

**-Sri Chinmoy**

**Jacob**

I sped to London as fast as I could. I had received a call from a hospital there only a few hours after Natalie had left. Guess who it was about?

Apparently, the idiot cab driver that had picked up Natalie had some side effect of some drug, and had driven both himself and Natalie right out into the middle of a four way intersection. He was all right, but she was in critical condition.

Before I had left, I had called Carlisle. He would be landing in London sometime mid-afternoon.

I got to the hospital. I ran into the emergency room and up to the nurse at the desk. "Natalie White?" I asked.

"You're the boyfriend?" she asked.

"Yes," I lied.

"We have her in a stabilized condition as of now, but the outlook isn't so good for her. Your… father, I believe, is coming to help. He should be good help for her. She's right this way." She stood up and led me to a room.

The sight made me sick. Sweet, beautiful Natalie, laying there with a handful of different wires going through her, a tube to help her breathe. Scars all over her pale skin. Suddenly, some monitor started to beep. A doctor rushed in.

After examining her for a few minutes, he turned and walked over to me. He put a hand on my shoulder. "I am very sorry. But she isn't going to make it until your father gets here. I give her forty-five minutes, at the least."

"Can I be alone with her?" I asked.

"She isn't going to regain consciousness."

"Yeah, I know that." He walked out of the room.

I gazed at her, laying in that bed, struggling to breathe. I walked over to her and stroked her hair.

What should I do? I could save her, but at a price. If I changed her, then she would be doomed to this afterlife. She could die a human, or she could live on as a vampire. But she didn't want to be a vampire. Was she ready to die, though? I argued with myself for many minutes.

Finally, I made my decision. I leaned over her…


End file.
